Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron will discuss the situation in Syria, Libya, Ukraine as well as the US wish to leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) at their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Friday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron will discuss the situation in Syria, Libya, Ukraine as well as the US wish to leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) at their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Friday.
The Soviet Union and France established diplomatic relations on October 28, 1924. On February 7, 1992, Russia and France signed a bilateral treaty confirming the striving of both countries to expand relations of concord based on trust, solidarity and cooperation.
France ranks among Russia's leading partners in Europe and worldwide. Despite the fact that France joined the EU restrictive anti-Russia measures over Ukraine in 2014, both countries maintain intensive political dialogue and cultural cooperation, including humanitarian exchanges.
In 2012, both France and Russia held presidential elections. Putin devoted the first foreign trip after his re-election as Russian president to visiting Belarus, Germany and France and met with French then-President Francois Hollande in Paris on June 1. On February 27-28, 2013, Hollande paid his first working visit to Russia. On June 17, 2013, Putin and Hollande met once again on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland. On September 5-6, 2013, Hollande attended the G20 summit held in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.
In June 2014, Putin visited France and attended the commemoration marking the 70th anniversary of the amphibious landing of allied forces in Normandy. On June 5, 2014, one day prior to the commemoration, Putin and Hollande met in Paris. Putin and Hollande also met October 17, 2014 during the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (10 ASEM) Summit in Milan and again November 15, 2014, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia. On December 6, 2014, Hollande visited Moscow and met with Putin at the Vnukovo-2 airport.
On February 6, 2015, Putin met with Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the Ukrainian crisis. On February 11-12, 2015, Putin and Hollande attended a "Normandy Four" summit in Minsk.
On April 24, 2015, Putin had a conversation with Hollande in Armenia's capital of Yerevan on the sideline of events marking the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Putin and Hollande discussed topical issues on the bilateral agenda, Russian-EU cooperation, and the implementation of the Minsk agreements on Ukraine.
On October 2, 2015, Putin and Hollande attended the "Normandy Four" summit in Paris and also held a bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace to discuss the issues of bilateral cooperation and the Syrian conflict.
On November 26, 2015, Hollande visited Russia to discuss the fight against international terrorism and other topical issues with Putin. In addition, Putin and Hollande exchanged opinions on a range of bilateral issues.
On September 4, 2016, Putin and Hollande met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China.
On October 20, 2016, Putin and Hollande attended the "Normandy Four" summit in Berlin and, in addition, the two presidents and Merkel held talks on the Syrian conflict.
On May 29, 2017, a week after Macron assumed presidential office, Putin arrived in France at the invitation of the French leader to discuss bilateral relations, the settlement of the Ukrainian and Syrian conflicts, as well as other issues on the international agenda.
On July 8, 2017, the two leaders held a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg and confirmed their commitment to move toward restoring full-format cooperation.
On May 24, 2018, Macron arrived in Russia on an official visit and the two leaders discussed the whole range of bilateral issues. Macron also took part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum as a special guest.
Macron also visited Russia to support the French national football team at the FIFA World Cup in summer 2018.
On November 11, 2018, the Russian president took part in celebrations in Paris, dedicated to the 100-year anniversary marking the end of the First World War.
Regular bilateral contacts are also maintained at the level of prime ministers and ministers of the governments.
On February 13, 2016, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had a conversation with then-Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
On April 19, 2016, then French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault paid a working visit to Russia where he was received by Putin.
On June 29, 2016, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ayrault held talks in Paris. On October 6, 2016, Lavrov and Ayrault held talks in Moscow. On February 18, 2017, the two ministers met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Lavrov and Ayrault have continued to meet regularly during the "Normandy Four" summits.
In 2017-2018, Lavrov held a number of meetings with incumbent French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and discussed key issues of the international agenda.
France ranks among Russia's high-priority trade and economic partners. In 2015 and 2016, France was 13th and 10th among Moscow's foreign trade partners, respectively.
In 2017, Russian-French trade increased by 16.5 percent compared to 2016 and reached $15.5 billion. Russian exports increased by 22 percent at $5.8 billion. Russian imports increased 13.4 percent to $9.6 billion.
In January-September 2018, the turnover of Russia and France amounted to $12.7 billion.
In 2017, Russia mostly exported mineral goods (80 percent of all Russian exports to France); machinery, equipment and transport systems (5 percent); chemicals (5 percent); metals and metal products (3 percent); timber and pulp-and-paper goods (1.6 percent) to France.
Russian imports included chemicals (32 percent of the total imports from France); machinery, equipment and transport systems (26.6 percent); foodstuffs and agricultural feedstock (7.6 percent); metals and metal products (2.5 percent); timber and pulp-and-paper goods (about 1.0 percent).
In late 2015, Russia had received $9.9 billion worth of direct French investment, according to the Central Bank of Russia. At the same time, direct Russian investment in France totaled $3.3 billion. At the end of the third quarter of 2016, $12.8 billion worth of direct French investment had accumulated in Russia, with the respective direct Russian investment in France totaling $2.8 billion.
France traditionally ranks among leading European investors operating in the Russian market. Over 500 companies with French capital operate in Russia and in various sectors of the national economy. French companies boast the strongest positions in the fuel and energy sector (Total, Alstom and EDF Group), the automotive industry (Peugeot-Citroen and Renault), pharmaceuticals (Sanofi Aventis and Servier) and the food industry (Danone and Bonduelle).
Other major French investors include Auchan (retail outlets), Saint-Gobain (construction materials), Air Liquide (chemical industry), Schneider Electric (engineering and power-generating machinery), Lafarge and Vinci (construction industry), the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company/EADS, Thales Alenia Space and Safran (aerospace).
Russian Railways owns a 75 percent stake in logistics company GEFCO, and the Novolipetsk Iron & Steel Works owns a steel-smelting facility in Strasbourg. Russian companies also invest in traditional French goods, including champagne and cognac.
The Russian-French Commission on issues of bilateral cooperation (IGC), at the level of heads of government level and the Council for economic, financial, industrial and trade issues (CEFIC) are the main agencies for inter-governmental cooperation between the countries.
The IGC was established on February 15, 1996. Its members have held 18 meetings to date, with Moscow hosting the latest meeting on November 1, 2013.
In May 2018, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) signed six investment agreements with the French side totaling about one billion euro on the sidelines of SPIEF.
The CEFIC is the main working body of the IGC. The CEFIC has 12 specialized working groups that are responsible for bilateral trade and economic cooperation. The CEFIC members meet regularly in Russia and France on a rotating basis. The first CEFIC meeting was held in 1992, and 21 meetings have taken place to date, including the last one on January 25, 2016 in Moscow.
Russia and France maintain diverse cultural-humanitarian ties. On October 19, 2016, the Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center was opened in Paris in the presence of Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
The year 2017 was the cross culture year of Russia and France. In 2018, Paris hosted a number of events dedicated to Russian language and writers.
