Syria crisis: Putin cancels Paris visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not visit Paris next week or meet his French and German counterparts for separate talks on the Syria crisis, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today.

"The President made the decision to cancel his visit," Peskov told a conference call with reporters. "The President noted that he is ready to visit Paris at a time convenient for (French President) Hollande. We will wait for this convenient time to come."

Putin's cancellation is the latest deterioration in ties between Moscow and the West after Russia vetoed a French-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria.

Paris' growing anger at events in the rebel-held areas of Syria's Aleppo had led them to reconsider whether to host Putin on Oct. 19.

Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande today said it was vital to continue talking to Russia despite major differences with Moscow on Syria, but there was no point discussing unless talks were "frank and firm".

"With Russia, France has a major disagreement on Syria and the Russia veto on the French resolution at the UN Security Council has prevented the cessation of bombings and enablement of a truce," Hollande said in a speech at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

"I consider it is necessary to have dialogue with Russia, but it must be firm and frank otherwise it has no place and it is a charade. I'm ready to meet President Putin if we can make progress on peace."