Munich | The leaders of France and Germany have stressed the need to avoid escalating the war in Ukraine and to prepare for peace, even as they backed President Volodymyr Zelensky’s bid to drive Russia out of his country.

Both President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz used keynote speeches at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday (AEDT) to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “imperialist aggression”, but each tried to sound a note of caution.