French president flexes diplomatic muscles in Putin meeting

VERSAILLES, France — French President Emmanuel Macron said he had “extremely frank” and “direct” talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday and launched an extraordinary attack on two state-funded Russian media outlets he accused of spreading “lying propaganda” during France’s presidential campaign.

Macron’s full-on blast at the state news agency Sputnik and broadcaster Russia Today came at a news conference with Putin standing at his side.

His comments underscored the clear differences between the two men on multiple issues and fulfilled the French president’s campaign promises to pull no punches with Russia when needed.

But after more than two hours of meetings — their first since Macron’s May 7 election and longer than scheduled — both leaders also signaled a shared desire not to let disagreements define their fledgling relationship.

The fight against terrorism, in particular, appeared to offer common ground.

Putin said Macron proposed a framework for French and Russian anti-terror experts to meet and work together.

And both leaders agreed they don’t want Syria — where Russia is propping up the government of President Bashar Assad — to collapse into a failed state.

Progress in Syria “will happen by a joint effort, which today we laid the foundations for,” Macron said.

Speaking through a translator, Putin said the two countries were “totally capable of trying to progress together” on world affairs.

“What unites us allows us to hope that the possibility exists to improve our ties,” he added later.

But there was no disguising the rifts.

Macron said he spoke to Putin about LGBT rights in the Russian republic of Chechnya and about the rights of embattled non-governmental organizations in Russia, vowing to be “vigilant” on these issues.