French President Hollande arrives in Moscow for talks with Putin

French President Francois Hollande (right) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last met at the Elysee Palace in October 2015, for talks to consolidate a fragile peace in eastern Ukraine

French President Francois Hollande arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks on Syria with Russia's Vladimir Putin, his press office told AFP. Hollande is leading a diplomatic campaign to form a broad coalition against the Islamic State jihadists following the attacks in Paris, though his efforts are currently being hindered by a bitter standoff between Russia and Turkey over the shooting down of a Russian military plane.