Putin dialogs with French leaders as Moscow seeks new avenues for boosting bilateral ties with Paris
PARIS, France — The powerful Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin, had talks with both former and current French leaderships on a broad range of strategic policy issues designed to further deepen the currently robust bilateral cooperation across all spheres of bi- and multilateral diplomacy between Moscow and Paris.
Specifically, Putin, during the two-day visit, a part of elaborately devised programs to mark the ‘Russian Year’ in France and ‘French Year’ in Russia in 2010, met with ex-president Jacques Chirac, and then with current Prime Minister Francois Fillon, his official host, with whom he opened Russia’s National Expo in Paris and discussed most of the issues on his agenda, and then capped the eventful business trip with a meeting with President Nikolas Sarkozy in the Elysee Palace to discuss the rest of the political and economic issues of bilateral and geopolitical importance to Moscow and Paris.
Among the key issues on the agenda were ways of boosting of bilateral cooperation, especially in the economic, defense and cultural sectors, including the purchase of Mistral warships and the construction of a Russian Cultural Center in Paris’ historical center, the turbulent relationship with Georgia, the latent Nagorny-Karabakh conflict, Iran’s nuclear program and the upcoming OSCE Security Conference in Kazakhstan.
Citing Gen. Charles de Gaulle, who once said that the Russian-French union usually becomes particularly important at turning moments in history, Putin expressed hope that the programs laid down for marking the years of Russia in France and vice-versa in 2010 would enable citizens of both nations to know each other much better as they forge plans for more effective cooperation in both short- and long-term perspectives. “We hope that the Russian National Exposition will not only enable French citizens to get acquainted with what Russia is proud of today, but also with our plans and capabilities for the 21st century.”
From his side, the French prime minister noted the bilateral trade turnover between the two countries had arisen by over four times since 2000. “We also discussed the prospects of French companies’ investments in Russia, including in the Far-East region.”
By Chris Kenneth
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