The Kremlin has familiarized itself with French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent interview in which he touched upon relations with Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin shares his readiness to have dialogue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
Speaking to Le Point magazine in an interview released Wednesday, Macron said he and Putin had major differences on the situation in Ukraine, but were in consensus on the issue of climate policy and had progress on the Syrian issue. The French president stressed he spoke with everyone.
“Without a doubt, we have familiarized ourselves with this interview. Indeed, we welcome the French president’s readiness and desire to hold a dialogue with our country. This is an absolutely mutual intention. And president Putin shares it, without avoiding the issues on which there are rather serious disagreements,” Peskov told reporters.
According to the official, the Kremlin believes that “disagreements in views on some regional and global issues should not be an obstacle for continuation and expansion of dialogue.”
“In this regard, Moscow’s views correspond to the approach of France’s leader,” Peskov added.
May 29, 2017. Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves an entry in the Honored Visitor Book of the National Museum of Versailles and Trianon, Versailles.
In late May, Putin visited France at Macron’s invitation. The two leaders discussed bilateral relations and pressing issues of the international agenda, particularly the situations in Ukraine and Syria.
In 2014, relations between Russia and the West, including France, deteriorated over Moscow’s alleged involvement in Ukraine conflict and Crimea’s reunification with Russia. The United States and the European Union imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia’s energy, banking, defense and other sectors, as well as on a number of Russian officials.