Putin says ready for contacts with Macron

MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared the readiness for contacts with French President Emmanuel Macron and noted that relations with France stopped at Macron's initiative.

"We had a rather good, amicable, working relationship. [...] Our agenda was always packed and involved bilateral relations and international affairs. We are ready for further interaction with France. However, the French president stopped relations with us at some point. It was not us who stopped, it was not me, it was he who did it," Putin said at the live end-of-year press conference in response to a question from a French journalist.

"If there is an interest, then welcome, we are ready, but if there is no interest, we can do without it. That's it. There is nothing unusual about it. We are not avoiding such contacts, but if European countries and the French president, in particular, do not wish to speak with us, let it be so, we have other things to do," Putin said.

"If there is an interest, we are ready," he said.