For the past couple of weeks, the world has watched anxiously as Russia inched closer to what appeared to be an invasion against Ukraine. Russia has continued to build up its military forces near Eastern Europe, raising concerns from NATO officials and other world leaders.

Tensions and fears reached record levels as U.S. President Joe Biden claimed on February 18 that he was “convinced” that Russia intends to invade Ukraine in the coming days.

As tensions remain high, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France has pitched to both Russia and the United States the idea of a summit to discuss the “security and strategic stability in Europe,” under the condition that Russia does not invade Ukraine. Both the United States President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed “in principle” to the idea of participating in the summit.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that “Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov are scheduled to meet later this week in Europe, provided Russia does not proceed with military action. President Biden accepted in principle a meeting with President Putin following that engagement, again, if an invasion hasn’t happened.” The international community will be watching carefully as further events unfold.