In Moscow for the final of the World Cup, Macron will meet Putin

Visiting Moscow to see the Blues face Croatia in the final of the
World Cup,
Emmanuel Macron will take the opportunity to meet his Russian counterpart. A bilateral interview with
Vladimir Putin is expected this Sunday from 14h to 15h (French time) in the Kremlin, just before the game.

The two leaders decided to see each other when they crossed for the semi-final of the Blues Tuesday. For the Elysée, this meeting, the fourth between the two men, happens "at the right time."

Syria in the program

It "comes in an important context, after the NATO summit and before the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. It will make it possible to follow the very long and positive meeting of the French and Russian presidents in St. Petersburg, bilateral cooperation and major international issues, especially Syria and Iran, despite our differences ", according to the presidency

One of the main topics will be the political settlement of the conflict in Syria, where France has set up a mechanism for consultation with Russia to try to bring together Russian-Turkish initiatives and those of Westerners. "This mechanism, we make it work and it allows to build convergences, especially on the humanitarian aspect", underline the advisers of the presidency.

France tries to reconcile the positions between the group of Astana (Russia, Iran, Turkey) and the "small group" on Syria (United Kingdom, Germany, United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt)

Concerns of Europeans after the Skripal affair

the Trump-Putin meeting scheduled for Monday in Helsinki, it is "normal" and could help advance disarmament efforts, said France. It reflects Donald Trump's desire to "establish contact with the Russian president," despite the US investigation into possible Kremlin interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

The US president must also to count with European allies "obviously very anxious about the Russian attitude" after the case of the former spy Skripal and the annexation of the Crimea, warns Paris.

Emmanuel Macron had responded to the invitation of Vladimir Putin on his way to St. Petersburg at the end of May last year, a year after the visit of the Russian leader to Versailles in May 2017.

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