A meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, will go ahead if Russia refrains from invading Ukraine.

The AFP news agency, citing Macron’s office, reported late on Sunday that the proposed summit had been accepted by both Washington and Moscow. Reportedly, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov will take the necessary steps to set up the summit in the coming days.

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At the time of writing, no date had been announced.

The announcement came after Macron spoke to Biden on the phone on Sunday evening, their second phone conversation of the day, to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, the French President held long talks with Putin in a bid to discuss the Ukraine crisis and possible solutions, and both heads of state agreed to commit towards finding a diplomatic solution, said Macron’s office.

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The Elysee had said earlier that Macron, in his phone conversation with the Russian President, had also proposed trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in a bid to “obtain a commitment from all parties to a ceasefire on the line of contact.”

The intensification of efforts to find a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis comes on a day when reports suggested that US intelligence had found evidence that Russian commanders had been instructed to proceed with the invasion of Ukraine.

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The FBI has also reportedly issued a warning to US companies to brace for Russian cyberattacks if the situation in Ukraine deteriorates further.

While the West fears Russia is planning to invade its neighbour and has threatened tough sanctions should any military actions be taken against Kyiv, Moscow maintains that it has no such plans and has accused the West of creating hysteria through misinformation.