Bormes-les-Mimosas (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 spiralling 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.