YEREVAN, 24 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. Presidents of Russia and France Vladimir Putin and Francois Hollande, who are in Armenia to participate in the ceremonies commemorating the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, had a meeting in Yerevan. As “Armenpress” reports, citing the Kremlin’s press service, during the meeting, the sides discussed urgent issues on the agenda, the Russia-EU partnership, as well as the implementation of the Minsk agreements over the issue of Ukraine.

 Vladimir Putin mentioned that he was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with Hollande within the frames of the commemoration ceremonies, talk about the bilateral relations and the development of the existing relations between the Russian Federation and the European Union in general. “Unfortunately, we’re not on good terms. I believe we have to find the paths to reinstate our relations, and I think everyone is interested in that. Of course, we’ll also talk about the Minsk agreements over the current situation in eastern Ukraine,” Putin said.

 In his turn, Francois Hollande mentioned that in spite of the tragic situation, he was also pleased to meet with the President of the Russian Federation and discuss the bilateral relations. “Of course, we’ll also discuss Russia-EU relations which, you are very right, have recently deteriorated. I believe we have proved that we can’t cope with neither the Ukrainian crisis nor the deterioration of Russia’s relations with the European Union, particularly France. Of course, in order to get out of this situation in the best way possible, we need to move forward with the implementation of the Minsk agreements,” Hollande mentioned.