MACRON, PUTIN SPAR ON SYRIA
AGREE RE UKRAINE ACTION
Macron said he hoped to attend a summit with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and Germany — the so-called Normandy format — “in the next few weeks” to try to end fighting in eastern Ukraine
BORMES-LES-MIMOMAS, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron and Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Monday agreed changes in Ukraine had bolstered the chances of peace in its east but clashed on Syria, as the Russian leader made a rare bilateral visit to a key EU power.
Macron, who hosted Putin at his summer residence in southern France, made clear he wanted to keep contacts with Moscow alive on a range of issues even at a time of spiraling tensions with the West.
The pair both expressed optimism that the arrival of Volodymyr Zelensky as Ukraine’s president had improved the chances of ending the half-decade conflict during their meeting which lasted four-and-a-half hours. Putin departed after dinner around 11:30 p.m.
But they publicly sparred over the Syria civil war, where the Kremlin is a leading backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and also over the crackdown on protesters in Moscow.
The relationship between a youthful French leader who regards himself as a champion of European liberalism and the Russian strongman, in power for two decades, has been marked by wariness and tensions since Macron came to power in 2017.
Macron said he hoped to attend a summit with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and Germany — the so-called Normandy format — “in the next few weeks” to try to end fighting in eastern Ukraine.
“There is a real opportunity to put an end to the conflict that has been going on for five years,” he told reporters in an open-air press conference at the start of talks.