Allies determined to dissuade Russia from invading Ukraine -France

Western allies were still determined to dissuade Russia from invading Ukraine and were worried reports of explosions in eastern Ukraine looked similar to pretexts of this kind used by Russia before, a French presidential official said on Friday.

Should Russian President Vladimir Putin decide to invade Ukraine, France and allies will act to give reassurances to eastern European allies. "We would tip into another geopolitical reality in Europe," the official told reporters.