French, Russian leaders prioritise fight against terrorism

PARIS, May 29 (KUNA) -- President Emmanuel Macron of France and Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting here Monday, vowed to reinforce cooperation in the fight against terrorism and work closely together to eliminate what Putin called "the scourge of the 21st Century.
The two leaders met over lunch and held lengthy talks at the Versailles Palace outside of Paris in parallel with a commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the visit here by Russian Czar Peter the Great in 1717.
But beyond the cultural aspect, the talks focused on hot topics like international terrorism, the crises in Syria and Ukraine and the ongoing tension over North Korea's missile programme.
Speaking in a press conference, Macron said the two leaders agreed there must be more cooperation on a practical level against terrorism. "None of the challenges today can be handled without dialogue with Russia," Macron said.
"Our absolute priority is the fight against terrorism and the eradication of terrorist groups, in particular Daesh (so-called Islamic State)," he added.
He further stressed that this objective was "the guiding line of our action in Syria" and he indicated France, "beyond the work it is doing in the Coalition, wants to reinforce its partnership with Russia." For his part, Putin said that he and the French President "have decided to find joint solutions to these situations and not envenom them." He revealed that Syria, Ukraine and North Korean nuclear development were high on the agenda for Monday's talks.
But the Russian leader stressed that more must be done on the terrorism issue, including in Syria.
"We cannot fight against terrorism by destroying the (Syrian) State. We must unite our efforts to fight this scourge of the 21st Century," Putin said.
He indicated that France and Russia would set up "a working group" to develop better ways to fight terrorism and promote "practical cooperation." Macron, on his side, called for "political transition in Syria" but also for "the preservation of the Syrian State" because "failed States are a threat for our democracies...and allow terrorist groups to progress." The French leader spoke out forcefully against any further use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, "by whomever", and he warned that this was "a very clear Red Line" for Paris. Any use of such weapons would meet with "reprisals and an immediate riposte from the French side." He said France would show "no weakness" on responding militarily to renewed chemical weapons' use.
Macron also said that he had urged Putin to work with him on setting up "a diplomatic and political framework to build peace" in Syria and work on this is to take place over the next weeks. The French leader also called for "humanitarian access" to be provided over all Syrian territory to allow aid in and the evacuation of civilians.
On Ukraine, the two leaders discussed all elements relating to the crisis in Ukraine and agreed that there should soon be another consultation in the "Normandy" group that includes Russia and France, but also Germany and Ukraine. Both agreed on the need for "de-escalation" and measures of confidence and they discussed the usefulness of a "detailed report" by the Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has monitors in East Ukraine. Putin criticised international sanctions against Russia for its intervention in The Crimea and also for its support for separatists in Ukraine.
These "sanctions in no way solve the problems in Ukraine," he said.
"We must finish with restrictions on international trade," he added. (End) jk.rk