Flag Format Normandie
Source: Rahma Sophia Rachdi
At 13:45, the French president welcomed his Russian counterpart at the Palace of Versailles. The two men scheduled forty minutes of closed-door discussions before a late lunch scheduled at 2:30 pm in a location that has yet to be unveiled. This official visit of Vladimir Putin, follows an invitation from the recent President Macron and coincides with the celebration of the tercentenary of Peter the Great dedicated to the stay of Peter the Great in Paris and its surroundings, in May and June 1717. This exhibition at the Grand Trianon commemorates from 30 May to 24 September 2017 the tercentenary of this diplomatic visit. Result of an exceptional collaboration between the Palace of Versailles and the State Hermitage Museum, it presents more than 150 works - paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, tapestries, but also plans, medals, scientific instruments, books and manuscripts - two thirds of which belong to the collections of the prestigious museum of St. Petersburg. The wait was long for journalists, because the two heads of state having planned a press conference at 14:30, finally took place at 17:30 ... This long wait in the press conference room, packed with journalists from around the world In the middle of the Palace of Versailles, it is clear that the exchange between Presidents Macron and Putin was supported and sign of a fruitful meeting.
At the end of these exchanges, the two heads of state programmed a press conference which preceded the visit of the exhibition Pierre Le Grand.
The question of sanctions against Moscow has been a point of strong tension. While the G7 has not ruled out their reinforcement, the French president plans to discuss the Ukrainian dossier on foot. "Russia has invaded Ukraine," he said after the G7, while Moscow denies any involvement in the conflict. The diplomatic cell of the Elysee Palace also this week received NGOs committed to the defense of human rights to discuss the persecution of homosexuals in Chechnya and freedom of association in Russia.
PRESIDENT MACRON CONFIRMS THE CONTINUATION OF NORMANDY FORMAT---------------------------------------
In anticipation of the meeting in Versailles between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recalled Putin's position on the Normandy format. The Russian President is in favor of the continuation of the Normandy format, but Ukraine's current position on the implementation of the Minsk agreements is pessimistic, Dmitry Peskov said.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"With regard to the likely discussion of the Ukrainian subject in next Monday's contacts with President Macron, the position of President Putin is well known. The President advocates the need to solve the Ukrainian problem and believes that the Minsk Agreement is the only instrument of settlement in our arsenal and must be fulfilled, "he told reporters about the possibility of the discussion by MM. Putin and Macron of the Ukrainian problematic.------------------------------------------------
The spokesman of the Russian President stressed that Vladimir Putin was pronouncing for the continuation of the works in Normandy format. In April 2014, Kiev began a military operation against the self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics that proclaimed independence following the February 2014 coup in Ukraine. According to updated UN data, the conflict killed about 10,000 people. See also articles : http://www.uspa24.com/bericht-11021/french-president-called-german-russian-und-ukrainian-presidents-about-ceasefire.html FRENCH PRESIDENT CALLED GERMAN RUSSIAN & UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTS ABOUT CEASEFIRE
UKRAINE IN LINE WITH FORMAT NORMANDIE
