MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th June, 2020) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, will hold a video conference on Friday to discuss regional security and international crises.
The virtual meeting follows months of regular phone talks between the two, launched in the wake of a four-way Paris summit in December that sought to revive the Ukrainian peace process.
Ukraine will be on the agenda of the two presidents' video call, in addition to Libya, Syria and Iran. They will also discuss security in Europe, cyberthreats and multilateral cooperation.
Putin and Macron will take stock of relations between their countries and chart a path forward that will include cooperation on environment and the common fight against coronavirus.
Escalating international crises are expected to dominate the talks, with tensions threatening to boil over in Libya, progress once again stalling in Ukraine and sanctions being piled on Syria and Iran.
Russia and France have both supported Egypt's offer of ceasefire between Libya's western government in Tripoli and the eastern administration allied with commander Khalifa Haftar, but the proposal was rejected by the Turkey-backed west.
Instead, Ankara has been nudging western-based troops to press on toward Haftar's stronghold of Sirte, a move described by Egypt as a "red line." Macron has also criticized Turkey for trafficking Syrian fighters to Libya.
In Syria, the economy took another hit last week after the United States expanded sanctions to deter foreign investment that is needed to rebuild the war-torn country.
Washington has also threatened action against Iran, which is expected to have the UN arms embargo on it lifted in fall. Russia, France and European allies have been trying to maintain trade with Iran to stop it from ditching the 2015 nuclear deal.
