Putin shuns Paris visit after France offers talks only on Syria
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Russian President Vladimir Putin will not come to Paris next week after declining to meet French President Francois Hollande only for talks on Syria, a source in Hollande's office said, the latest deterioration in ties between Moscow and the West.
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.
