|
French officials
have been grappling for ways to put new pressure on Russia after
Moscow vetoed a French-drafted United Nations Security Council
resolution on Syria. Their growing anger at events in the
rebel-held areas of Aleppo had led them to reconsider whether to
host Putin on Oct. 19.
"There were contacts between the Kremlin and the Elysee this
morning to offer to Putin a working visit on Syria, but
excluding all other events that President Hollande could have
taken part in," the source said.
"In response to this proposal, Russia has just indicated that it
wants to postpone the visit planned on Oct. 19."
The Russian leader was scheduled to inaugurate a new Russian
Orthodox cathedral and visit a Russian art exhibition in the
French capital.
While France has said it is vital to keep dialogue going with
Moscow and not cut ties, events in Syria have damaged their
relations with the two parties supporting opposite sides in the
conflict.
France's foreign minister said on Monday his diplomats were
working to find a way for the International Criminal Court's
prosecutor to launch an investigation into war crimes it says
have been committed by Syrian and Russian forces in eastern
Aleppo.
Diplomats have also said Paris was leading discussions on
whether to impose new European Union sanctions on Russia
specifically over Syria, where Moscow backs President Bashar
al-Assad in the five-year-old war.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russia's ambassador to France Alexander
Orlov had said that Putin still wanted to come to France on Oct.
19.
"Of course he still wants to come to Paris," Alexander Orlov
told Europe 1 radio. "I think dialogue needs to continue and we
are here to talk especially in difficult moments.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and John Irish; Editing by Ingrid
Melander)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
|
