RPT: PREVIEW - Macron To Host Putin At Fort Bregancon To Discuss Middle East, Ukraine, European Security

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a one-day working visit to France on Monday, during which he will discuss with his counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, a host of topics, including Syria, Libya, the situation around Iran and security in Europe.

The talks will be held at the official residence of French presidents in the medieval Fort de Bregancon, located on an islet off Mediterranean coast, where Putin was earlier invited to by Macron.

The talks will be held in the format of small delegations. The Russian delegation will include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Presidential aide Yury Ushakov and the ambassador in Paris, Alexey Meshkov.

The two leaders will also have tete-a-tete talks and hold a joint press conference.

According to the Kremlin, since their first bilateral meeting in Versailles in May 2017, the two presidents have established an intensive and constructive dialogue. In 2018, they met five times.

Most recently, they held talks at the G20 summit in Osaka in late June. Back then, Putin invited Macron to attend the commemorative events in Moscow on May 9, 2020, on occasion of the 75th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany. The French president accepted the invitation.

At the talks in the Fort de Bregancon, the two leaders will discuss bilateral cooperation in international arena, trade, economy, culture and in the humanitarian area, according to the Kremlin.

"Of course, Iran, the situation around Iran, the situation around its nuclear program [will be in focus]. Both Russia and France are united by the common tasks of preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] and preventing escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States in the Persian Gulf and in general.

Then, certainly Syria and Libya," Ushakov said.

The Kremlin aide added that Putin and Macron would also discuss the Ukraine conflict and efforts to settle it, including in the Normandy format.

The talks will also focus on the issues pertaining to the security in Europe and Russia-EU cooperation.

Macron may once again touch upon the high-profile case of French banker Philippe Delpal, who, along with some other Baring Vostok partners, is charged with defrauding a Russian lender of almost $40 million but was released last week on house arrest.

Ushakov notably earlier voiced the belief that Delpal had been released on house arrest due to multiple rounds of talks that Macron had held with Putin on the matter.

ECONOMY, ENERGY, TRADE, CULTURE

France ranks 12th in the list of Russia's largest trade partners. In 2018, bilateral trade grew by 11.2 percent year-on-year to $17.2 billion.

Over 500 companies with French capital operate in the Russian market in the energy sector, automotive, pharmaceutical and food industry. France is also among the five top EU investors in Russia, along with Cyprus, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.

Energy remains the key area of cooperation, with French companies taking part in such projects as Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2.

Russia and France are also consistently developing their cultural and humanitarian ties. In 2020, Russian Seasons, a traditional international festival of Russian culture, plan to hold 270 events in 64 French cities.