Paris attacks, Hollande visit may spur Kremlin push to end isolation

French President Francois Hollande (L) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin after a summit on the Ukraine crisis at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, October 2, 2015. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Francois Hollande's decision to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week, the first bilateral visit by an EU leader in six months, may galvanise Kremlin efforts to end its isolation over the Ukraine crisis, but is unlikely to yield a quick fix.

Since Russian troops annexed Ukraine's Crimea last March, the Kremlin guest list has been light on Western leaders and heavy on statesmen the West shuns, such as Syria's Bashar al-Assad or Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.