Russia's Putin, France's Macron spoke by phone ahead of Istanbul talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin and France's President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone ahead of a four-way summit in Istanbul on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Interfax newsagency.

Putin and Macron are due to meet Germany's Angela Merkel and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss developments in Syria's opposition-held Idlib province and the political process for resolution of the conflict.

Putin and Macron discussed arranging a high-level Russia-U.S. meeting in Paris.