Obama, Putin speak in France in first face-to-face exchange since start of Ukraine crisis

BENOUVILLE, France – The White House says President Barack Obama has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the margins of a lunch for world leaders during D-Day commemorations in France.

It’s the first face-to-face exchange between Obama and Putin since the start of the crisis in Ukraine.

The White House says the two leaders held an informal conversation and not a formal, bilateral meeting. The conversation lasted 10 to 15 minutes.

The exchange came during a lunch hosted by French President Francois Hollande (frahn-SWAH’ oh-LAWND’). Obama and Putin were both in France for the 70th anniversary of Allied troops storming the beaches at Normandy.

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