Scholz, Macron, Tusk to try to narrow differences on Ukraine at Friday talks in Berlin - media

BERLIN. March 13 (Interfax) - French President Emmanuel Macron, German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will meet in Berlin for negotiations on Friday to try to forge a common position on the Ukraine crisis, Politico reported citing sources on Wednesday.

The meeting is intended as an "effort to reduce tensions over Ukraine that have spilled out into the open in recent weeks," Politico said.

Scholz and Macron will first meet bilaterally, and Tusk will join them later in the day, it said. "The leaders intend the meeting to be a show of unity following a tense period in which Franco-German frictions over Ukraine have descended into an open feud," it said.

Differences between France and Germany's approaches towards the Ukraine situation "began to boil over" in late February when Macron stated that the West should not rule out sending troops to fight in Ukraine, Politico said. Scholz, as well as leaders in the United States and numerous other countries, objected to Macron, point out that NATO has agreed from the very start of the Ukraine conflict not to deploy troops to the country.

Politico referred to German officials complaining privately that, while making tough statements on Ukraine, Macron has not been giving Ukraine nearly as much military support as Berlin has. Paris has countered this by saying that it has focused on supplying Ukraine only with weapons that "really matter," it said.