French, Russian leaders discuss Syrian crisis

French President Francois Hollande and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone Monday on the cooperation between the two countries to address the worsening situation in Syria. In a statement by the French Presidential office, the phone conversation came after the recent visit to Moscow by the French president which also covered deep exchange of views on the Syrian crisis. The statement added that president Hollande stressed importance on engaging the international community and to speed up the political process, expressing France’s increasing concerns to the level of violence and the number of fallen victims. During his recent visit, the French leader called for the departure of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.