French President Emmanuel Macron last month urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to help release arrested French businessman Philippe Delpal, an aide to Macron told AFP on Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin says he's willing to share details with the United States about his summit on Thursday with Kim Jong Un, potentially raising Russia's influence in the stalemated issue of North Korean denuclearization.

The two leaders' first one-on-one did not indicate major changes in North Korea's position: Putin said Kim is willing to give up nuclear weapons, but only if he gets ironclad security guarantees.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left the Russian city of Vladivostok on Friday after a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin where the two vowed to pursue closer ties.

President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia was ready to restore full relations with Kiev, after a political novice won the Ukraine presidential election. 

During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week, President Michel Aoun has reportedly raised the “nomination of his son-in-law and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil to the post of presidency in the next elections, asking for Putin’s support,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday.

President Michel Aoun has agreed with Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil that he would be the only minister to accompany him on his first official visit to Russia on March 26, a media report said.

“Aoun's picking of Bassil exclusively and the decision not to form a delegation as per custom might be linked to the intention of the president and the foreign minister to keep their discussions with the Russian officials under wraps,” MTV reported on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Crimea on Monday to mark the fifth anniversary of Moscow's annexation of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine, condemned by the West but celebrated by most Russians.

Lebanon and Moscow pursue the preparations for President Michel Aoun’s visit to Moscow on March 25 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to deploy new missiles against Western capitals as he delivered a state of the nation address Wednesday aimed at boosting falling approval ratings. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold Syria talks in Moscow on Wednesday, with Turkey saying they will focus on Ankara's so-called "security zone" in northern Syria.