"I would like to stress it again. We share the concern about what is going on in the sphere of security in Europe," he said at the talks with visiting French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.
"I would like to thank you for the fact that France always takes the most active part in the process of the elaboration of principled solutions in this area," Putin told Macron.
"This state of things has been in place since the very beginning of our modern relations and it is symbolic that we are meeting today because this is the day when the basic document - the Treaty on Special Relations between Russia and France - was signed thirty years ago."
"It should be noted that over these years France has been taking an active part in the resolution of fundamental issues of European security," Putin stressed. "It was done by your predecessors concerning the crisis that broke out after Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia, concerning the work on the Minsk agreements and the organization of the Normandy format."
"I see how much effort the current French government and the French president are taking to resolve the crisis linked with issues of ensuring equal security in Europe for a long perspective and to address matters linked with the settlement of the crisis in southeastern Ukraine," he said.
The Russian president noted that these matters were discussed during his phone calls with Macron. "I know you have your own vision of the situation and I am glad to have an opportunity to see you in person to discuss these things," Putin added.
