The talks between Hollande and Putin take place against a backdrop of diplomatic tensions between Russia and Turkey over Tuesday’s downing of a Russian warplane by a Turkish Air Force jet.
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“It is crucial in that period to avoid any risk, any incident, and prevent any escalation”, Hollande said.
The two discussed Syria and the fight against the Islamic State.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility of the Friday’s attacks in Paris which killed 129 people and injured 350 others.
Obama said the shootdown underscored an “ongoing problem” with Russia’s military operations in Syria, where the Russians have been targeting groups near the Turkish border.
“We have to hit these militants in their heartland now”, he said. “This is what we want to do – we want to gather all countries, all those who are willing to find and to implement a political solution in Syria”.
“And we proceed from the position that there will be no repeat of this, otherwise we’ll have no need of cooperation with anybody, any coalition, any country”.
Putin denounced the Turkish action, saying it “thoughtlessly and rudely” destroyed friendly ties between the two countries.
The defence ministry said Thursday that it had deployed its advanced S-400 air defence system at the Russian airbase in Syria to ensure the security of its warplanes, which have been bombing the war-torn country since September 30. The United States is deeply skeptical of President Vladimir Putin’s motivations, given his longstanding support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.
But Hollande’s mission quickly became entangled with the fallout from a Russian military plane downed by Turkey – an incident with echoes of the Cold War.
He said the focus would be on “introducing limits or bans” on Turkish economic interests in Russian Federation and a “limitation of the supply” of products, including food.
Both Obama and Hollande pointedly ignored the plane episode in their opening remarks at a White House news conference and, when pressed for a response, defended North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally Turkey.
But he said he would order Russia’s military to intensify cooperation with the French armed forces – including exchanges of information about targets – and viewed that as part of creating a broader worldwide coalition bringing together Russian Federation and Western states. But his office acknowledges that “coordination” sounds like a far more realistic goal.
Elsewhere, Prime Minister David Cameron argued for Britain to join air strikes in Syria ahead of a vote expected at a later date, with signs of opposition weakening after Islamic State attacks in Paris two weeks ago left 130 dead.
The IS posed a “serious threat to all of us”, he declared.
Authorities launched a raid in southern Belgium on Thursday afternoon linked to the Paris attacks, but didn’t detain any suspects.
“These people Ankara seeks to protect at every possible way including illegal means have nothing to do with civilians”.
Government officials contacted by AFP were not immediately available for comment. A specialized crew from the fire department was sent, witnesses at the scene said.
In France’s fight against terrorists, “we stand by our friends in good times and bad, no matter what”, Mr Obama said.
According to one of the businessmen, the committee was stopped yesterday and then appeared this morning before a judge, who sentenced them to 10 days’ detention and a fine of 4,000 rubles (just under 60 euros).
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Germany now provides weapons and training for Kurds fighting against IS in Iraq.
