President of Russia Vladimir Putin said his French counterpart's brief visit to Moscow will benefit settlement of Ukrainian crisis in the format of Normandy talks.

The countries’ leaders met at Vnukovo-2 airport as Francois Hollande made a brief stopover after his visit to Kazakhstan.

For his part, President Hollande said he is confident that Russia and France will be able to overcome obstacles in bilateral relations, RIA Novosti reported.

“I think that at some point we need to get rid of these obstacles, these walls that may separate us, and I think we can do it,” Hollande said.