Russian president arrives in Berlin for Syria talks

1 June 2012, 16:11 (GMT+05:00)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived Friday at Chancellor Angela Merkel's office in Berlin for talks, kissing the German leader on both cheeks as he stepped out of his car, DPA reported.

The visit, his first to Germany since his third presidential term began, was expected to be dominated by Western appeals to Russia to force Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to halt a crackdown on opponents.

Protesters, organized by Amnesty International and Syrian exile groups, whistled and waved banners as a German military guard of honour welcomed Putin.

Putin, who had been expected about noon, touched down in Berlin nearly an hour behind schedule. Officials said his Berlin appointments would all be later than planned, but did not explain the delay. He was later set to fly to Paris for talks with French President Francois Hollande.