June 27(EIRNS) — The Presidents of Russia and France, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron held an extensive video conference call on a wide range of issues, which the French President characterized as “profound". The exchange covered Russia-French and European relations, arms control, the situations in Libya, Syria and the Ukraine and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Most importantly, Macron said France stands for the development of European cooperation “from Lisbon to Vladivostok.”
A Kremlin statement said the two leaders “noted that as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council Russia and France have special responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. In this context, major significance is given to the implementation of Russia’s initiative to call a summit of the heads of state of the permanent members of the UN Security Council.”
“It was stressed that it is important to preserve mechanisms of arms control and building predictability and trust in the military sphere,” the press service said. “The sides agreed to invigorate joint efforts on this dossier in the 2+2 format involving the countries’ defense and foreign ministers.”
Macron accepted an invitation by Putin to visit Moscow as soon as the pandemic crisis permits.
The two side expressed concern over the Ukraine and the lack of progress in the implementation of key provisions of the 2015 Minsk agreements. They also voiced concern over ongoing hostilities in Libya and stressed they were “in favor immediate cessation of hostilities and resumption of intra-Libyan dialogue and called for consolidated international efforts to settle the crisis by political and diplomatic means” .
