Prisoner exchange hailed by Russian and French leaders

Russian President Vladimir Putin and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have hailed this weekend's exchange of prisoners between Moscow and Kiev.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Source: AAP

The pair spoke in a telephone call ahead of a visit by the French foreign and defence ministers to Moscow. 

Mr Macron met with Mr Putin in France last month and has called for a renewed push to resolve the five-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The two leaders shared "their positive appreciation for the release and transfer" of 35 prisoners from each side on Saturday, the Kremlin said.

"The two presidents confirmed that the current momentum will allow for the holding, in the next few weeks, of a summit under the Normandy format in Paris," the office of the French president said.

President Macron announced the summit -- which would involve the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine -- after his meeting with Putin but no date has been set.

France and Germany helped to negotiate a peace accord in 2014 to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, where a conflict with Moscow-backed separatists has killed more than 13,000 in the last five years.