Official website of the President of Russia

News   /

Opening the meeting, Vladimir Putin underlined the importance of the position taken by France on Russia-EU cooperation.

During closed talks, they discussed various aspects of Russian-French relations, including those in the political, economic, aerospace and humanitarian spheres. The Russian President noted that bilateral trade and economic relations were developing positively and the volume of trade was large but not enough when compared with other European countries.

Following the first round of the talks, Vladimir Putin and Jacques Chirac held a joint press conference. The presidents answered questions from journalists on the situation in the Chechen Republic, the prospects for a settlement of the Kaliningrad problem and various aspects of Russian-French cooperation.

Vladimir Putin and Jacques Chirac continued their informal talks at dinner. They discussed the political situation in different regions of the world, including Afghanistan, the Middle East and the Balkans, issues of defence and security on the European continent and Russia’s accession to the WTO.

Noting the importance of a civil dialogue between the two countries, the presidents voiced support for the idea of establishing a Russian-French public fund.