Voice of America
28 Jun 2020, 01:35 GMT+10
PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that he would soon hold more "trust-building" talks in Russia with counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Macron tweeted he would "travel soon to Russia" to discuss European security, regional conflicts and climate change, "including the melting of permafrost in the Arctic."
The French president has urged European countries to reevaluate their strategic relationships with the Kremlin, arguing that their defiant approach toward Russia has been unsuccessful and that the country is crucial to Europe's security.
Macron's announcement that he would meet with Putin came one day after the two leaders held a video call.
Putin said Friday that he and Macron had promised to cooperate more closely to resolve global crises such as those in Ukraine, Syria and Libya, as well as tensions in the Balkans.
The Russian president said the two had discussed the need to "combine our efforts" to confront common threats such as the coronavirus pandemic and international terrorism.
Macron said after the call that "all regional crises we've experienced shows the importance of making the European space, in a broad sense, ... a real space of cooperation and peace."
Relations between Moscow and the Western world have reached post-Cold War lows after Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, its 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, its role in Syria's conflict and its 2018 poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain.
Macron has, nevertheless, urged Europe and NATO to reexamine their strategic relationships with Moscow, to the consternation of some of their Western allies.
RFE/RL contributed to this report.
Get a daily dose of Herald Globe news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Herald Globe.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has made public a visa decision that would usually be kept private. It did this to send...
MADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Paramount has agreed to pay US$16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump over...
LONDON, U.K.: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won a vote in Parliament this week to move ahead with changes to the country's welfare...
MADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
(Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images) Addison Barger hit an RBI single with two outs in the 11th inning and the Toronto...
(Photo credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images) Kyle Higashioka homered and knocked in five runs Saturday night as the visiting Texas...
(Photo credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images) Willy Adames drove in four runs and Logan Webb pitched 6 2/3 solid innings to help...
Chiang Mai [Thailand], July 6 (ANI): India earned a gritty 2-1 victory against hosts Thailand, sealing their qualification for the...
(Photo credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images) Lenyn Sosa homered, finished a triple shy of the cycle and drove in four runs, Michael A....