Putin told Macron about the provocative nature of the US exercises in the Black Sea

"Vladimir Putin drew attention to the provocative nature of the large-scale exercises conducted by the United States and a number of its allies in the Black Sea," the statement on the Kremlin's website says.

He mentioned this in the context of discussing the deterioration of the situation around Donbass.

According to Putin, the exercise is fueling tensions between Russia and NATO.

At the same time, the presidents expressed satisfaction with the meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of Russia and France held on November 12.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow turned to Paris for an explanation of the principles of the work of the agency being created in France to combat disinformation from abroad.