Russian President Vladimir Putin met leaders of France and the United Kingdom on the sidelines of the G20 summit, sources said, adding that the Russian leader discussed Moscow’s relations with the West.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met leaders of France and the United Kingdom on the sidelines of the G20 summit, sources said, adding that the Russian leader discussed Moscow’s relations with the West.

The Kremlin said that at the Brisbane meeting that Putin and British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed mutual interest in seeing Russia and West mend fences.

"Vladimir Putin and David Cameron noted interest in restoring ties between Russia and the West and adopting efficient measures to settle the Ukraine crisis which will facilitate the renunciation of confrontational sentiments," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to Russian reporters in Brisbane, added:

"They also spoke about the fundamental reasons for the current discord in ties between Russia, the United States and a number of European countries."
Peskov added that despite their focus on the Ukraine crisis, Putin and Cameron also discussed other issues.

"Despite the time pressure, Putin and Cameron touched upon the Syrian issue and ISIL," Peskov said, referring to Takfiri militants controlling parts of Iraq and Syria.

For his part, A Downing Street source said that Cameron had warned that the Russian strongman had a choice to make.

"The prime minister was clear at the start of the Ukraine discussions that we face a fork in the road, in terms of where we go next," the source said, quoted by British media.

"We can either see implementation of the Minsk agreement and what follows from that in terms of an improvement of relations," the source said, referring to peace accords.

"Or we can see things go in a very different way in terms of relations between Russian and the UK, Europe and the US."

Putin-Hollande
On the other hand, Putin on Saturday called on French President Francois Hollande to "minimize the risks" between their countries after months of growing tensions.

"There are a lot of turbulent moments in world affairs and not on all issues do our positions converge," Putin said on the margins of the G20 summit.

"It's all the more useful to have an opportunity to meet and talk and we have to do everything we can to minimize the risks and the negative consequences for our bilateral relations."

Russia on Friday reportedly warned France of "serious" consequences unless Paris soon delivers a Mistral-class warship after handover delays on concerns over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis.

However the delivery dispute was not mentioned in the section of the talks open to the press and a source said the matter was not discussed during their meeting.
At the start of their bilateral, Hollande replied to Putin, saying: "We should not suffer any longer from the turbulence today."

Before journalists were ushered out the French leader spoke of a duty "to settle the crises in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world where we have responsibilities.
"Russia, like France, should take its responsibilities," Hollande said.

"I am always ready to continue these relations but on one condition, there has to be an outcome."