Mr Jospin said Russian-French relations were developing positively and expanding. President Putin said he was satisfied with the recently active bilateral dialogue. He stressed that he was maintaining permanent contacts with President Jacques Chirac, and that the experts of both countries were working hard to expand Russian-French ties.
Mr Putin and Mr Jospin examined bilateral economic ties and important international issues. Both parties confirmed that they perceived broad cooperation prospects in many spheres, including the aerospace industry, and that bilateral cooperation could help attain positive results in Russian-French and Russia-EU relations. President Putin said there were many mutually beneficial prospects in this field.