French President Emmanuel Macron met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Versailles on May 29.

Macron said at the G7 in Sicily at the weekend that it was “essential to talk to Russia” amid tensions between the countries stemming from Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Syria, and accusations of its interference in the French election campaign.

An exhibition in honor of Peter the Great’s 1717 diplomatic visit to France was due to open at the Grand Trianon Palace at Versailles on May 30.