France regards Russia as a strong and steady partner

France regards Russia as a strong and steady partner with whom it can establish long-term cooperation in various spheres of mutual interest, Catherine Colonna, the press secretary of Elysee Palace, told RIA Novosti in advance of the upcoming summit talks between the presidents of Russia and France in the Russian Black Sea health resort of Sochi.

"France also thinks reliable stability in Europe and throughout the world is impossible without Russia," stressed Colonna.

Touching on European Union's position on the problem of the Russia's Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad, she said that "no one in Europe wants to isolate one million Russians inhabiting the Kaliningrad region from the rest of Russia." She also said French President Jacques Chirac had never been to Sochi before.