Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a decision to cancel his visit to Paris scheduled for October 19 to wait for a date that would suit his French counterpart Francois Hollande, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"The case is that certain events linked to the opening of a Russian cultural center and holding exhibitions had been scheduled. Unfortunately, these events fell out of the program and that’s why the president decided that now the visit to the French Republic will be cancelled," TASS cited Peskov as saying.
"From the very beginning of contacts with his French counterpart, President Putin noted that we would be ready to visit Paris at the time when this is suitable for Hollande. The president of Russia will again consider the possibility of paying such a visit in case this issue is still on the agenda," the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
When asked to comment on why the opening of the cultural center and exhibitions "fell out" of the program in Paris, Peskov said it is up to the French side to answer the question.