PARIS ��French President Emmanuel Macron called for improved relations with Russia as he held his first meeting with Vladimir Putin but staked out tough positions on sanctions and the civil war in Syria.
Macron said after meeting with Putin Monday that fighting terrorism is the main priority for the two nations but said Russian-led efforts to broker a cease-fire in Syria won't succeed without a political process. Macron also said he would support new sanctions against Russia if there is escalation in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. He has condemned Russia's role in the region as an "invasion."
"I want us to win the fight against terrorists in Syria and build together lasting political stability. We have laid the ground for that work together today." Macron said. "I believe we've had an extremely frank and direct exchange. We have told each other everything."
Putin welcomed the overtures while avoiding any public conflict with his French host, even as Macron blasted Kremlin-run media for engaging in what he called propaganda in the election that brought him to power. The Russian president denied any effort to meddle in the vote. Macron said he didn't raise the issue during the meeting because they had already discussed it by phone.
The meeting was a chance for Macron to further establish himself on the international scene after his debut last week at the NATO meeting in Brussels and the Group of Seven summit in Sicily. For Putin, the invitation by France's youngest-ever elected leader offered the opportunity to mend strained relations.
France has demanded the ouster of Kremlin ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad, and accused his regime of staging a chemical attack in April that provoked a U.S. military response. Under Macron's Socialist predecessor, Francois Hollande, France solidly backed Germany in imposing European sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea and covert military intervention in Ukraine.
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(Gregory Viscusi and Henry Meyer contributed to this report.)
