BRISBANE, November 15 (Sputnik) — French President Francois Hollande believes the "turbulence" in the world affairs will not last long and says he is ready to contribute to the settlement of Ukrainian crisis.
"I think we will not suffer from turbulence in the world for a long time. As we discussed [with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Normandy] on July 6, we must do our best to settle crisis in Ukraine and other parts of the world," Hollande said during the meeting with the Russian leader in Australia's Brisbane in the framework of G20 summit.
Hollande, who referred to Russian president on a first name basis, admitted he was glad to meet Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
At the meeting with his French counterpart, the Russian leader acknowledged the importance of maintaining warm and positive relations between the two countries.
"France and Russia for a long period of time have been maintaining not only warm, but also productive relations. Today there are a lot of turbulent moments in the global affairs, and our positions on some questions differ," Putin said.
"This is why it is so important to be able to meet and discuss all these questions, and to do everything possible to minimize potential risks and negative consequences for bilateral relations," he added.
Hollande agreed with Putin on the significance of maintaining productive bilateral relations and added that the two leaders also discussed the issues of economic growth, unemployment and economic activities.
Russian relations with the West began to deteriorate dramatically over the Ukrainian crisis.
The United States and its allies, including France, have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian situation.
Hollande, in particular, threatened to suspend the deliveries of two Mistral-class ships under the $1.5 billion contract signed by Russia and France in 2011.
The first carrier named Vladivostok is expected in Russia by the end of 2014. The second ship, the Sevastopol, is supposed to arrive in 2015.
Moscow stated that if the contact was cancelled, Paris would have to pay a large penalty. Russia also said that if anything went wrong, the country would be able to build an analogue to the Mistral by itself.
