Cameron, Putin meet for talks in Paris

Vladimir Putin held his first face-to-face talks with a western leader since the eruption of the Ukraine crisis Thursday when he met British Prime Minister David Cameron in Paris.

The encounter in a customs area of the French capital’s Charles de Gaulle airport on Thursday evening came after Cameron attended a meeting of G7 leaders which issued a warning that Russia faced further sanctions if it does not stop meddling in its southern neighbour’s affairs.

Putin was due to meet later on Thursday with French President Francois Hollande before attending Friday’s ceremony in Normandy for the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

Putin will also meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday before the memorial ceremony. No formal meeting is scheduled with Barack Obama but the US President signalled that he was likely to have some kind of exchange with his Russian counterpart.

“I have no doubt that I’ll see Mr Putin,” Obama said at the G7 talks in Brussels. “Should we have the opportunity to talk I’ll deliver the same message as I have throughout this crisis.

“If Russia’s provocations continue, it’s clear from our discussions here the G7 nations are ready to impose additional costs.”