Scholz, Macron to travel to Moscow, Kiev amid Ukraine tensions

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were among leaders to announce plans on Friday to travel to Ukraine and Russia, as diplomatic efforts increase to defuse a growing crisis in the region.

Leaders throughout Europe are intensifying their diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions after Moscow massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders.

Macron is expected to travel to Moscow and Kiev next week for mediation efforts, the Élysée Palace announced in Paris.

First, Macron will fly to meet Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Monday, and the following day, a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on the agenda, the Élysée said. He had recently spoken to both of them on the phone several times.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is also due to travel to Kiev this Monday, following up on a previous visit in mid-January.

She is set to meet Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, according to a Foreign Office spokesperson in Berlin.

Scholz is due to travel to the region a week later. He is scheduled to visit Moscow on February 15, to hold talks with Putin, the Kremlin said in a statement carried by the TASS news agency.

Scholz will take part in talks in Kiev on February 14 before heading to Moscow the following day, German deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner told reporters, noting the the focus of the trip will be de-escalating tensions over the Ukraine conflict.

For Scholz and Putin, it is to be the first face-to-face meeting since Scholz succeeded Angela Merkel in December.

Both Germany and France have been mediating in the Ukraine conflict for years.

Beforehand, Scholz is set to visit Washington on Monday, where he plans to meet US President Joe Biden. Their talks are expected to focus on the crisis.

In view of the deployment of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers in the border area with Ukraine, it is feared that the Kremlin is planning an invasion of its neighbouring country, a former Soviet republic. Moscow denies this.

It is also thought possible that the Russian side wants to stir up fears in order to persuade NATO to make concessions.

In addition, the leaders of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are also expected in Berlin for talks regarding the crisis.

Meanwhile Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Western leaders, including Biden, for "failing to contribute to resolving" tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

"I can say they only circumvent the situation,” Erdogan said on Friday, according to state news agency Anadolu, after his visit to Kiev.

“Before this, Merkel used to come out in fact holding a key in her hands for a solution. We do not have such a leader left at this moment,” the Turkish leader said.

Erdogan reiterated that Turkey hopes to mediate between Kiev and Moscow following his planned meeting with Putin.

However, it was not immediately clear if and when the two leaders would meet.