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At the beginning of the conversation, which was initiated by the French President, Mr Chirac sincerely thanked Mr Putin for assisting in the release of French citizen Brice Fleutiaux. The Russian President expressed hope that Mr Fleutiaux would quickly recover after his kidnapping by Chechen militants and conveyed good wishes to him and his relatives.

Mr Putin and Mr Chirac discussed forthcoming top-level Russian-French contacts, primarily their planned meeting during the upcoming G8 summit on Okinawa, Japan.

France will assume the presidency of the European Union on July 1, 2000. Both leaders exchanged opinions on Russian-EU relations, and Mr Putin praised the French initiative to streamline economic assistance to Russian reforms.

Both leaders noted with satisfaction their similar positions on issues related to strategic stability and reaffirmed the need for preserving and strengthening the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.