Putin, Macron discuss Libya, Syria, Ukraine crises

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed crises in Libya, Syria and Ukraine in a video conference with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Friday.

Opening the virtual meeting, Putin regretted that the two leaders could not hold a face-to-face meeting because of the coronavirus pandemic, which he called "a new threat".

At the same time, "old problems and threats," including terrorism, uncontrolled migration, climate change, a collapsing system of arms control remain on the common agenda, he added.

"Today we will discuss everything that I have just listed, one way or another, and of course we will talk about the growth of explosive potential in hot spots, about the problems of Ukraine, the Balkans, the situation in Syria and Libya," Putin said.

Macron, for his turn, stressed the necessity to create conditions for dialogue on security, health, economy, and environmental protection while having the agenda of regional crises.

"There are three tasks to keep in mind. This is creating concrete conditions for our bilateral and multilateral security dialogue. We also need to have an agenda of crises, in particular the situation in Libya, Ukraine and Syria. And the third is cooperation for the future: health, economy, and environmental protection," Macron said.

The Russian president also invited his French counterpart to Russia, which he accepted, saying he will come at the end of summer if the conditions are favorable.