Russian President Vladimir Putin during an official visit in Beijing | Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Putin calls on Macron to ‘overcome mutual mistrust’ The president-elect’s camp had been critical of Moscow in the run-up to Sunday’s vote.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday sent a congratulatory message to French President-elect Emmanuel Macron after his victory on Sunday.

In a statement, Putin wished Macron "good health, well-being and success" as president, adding that "overcoming mutual distrust and joining efforts to ensure international stability and security is especially important."

Macron took a hard line on Russia during the campaign, accusing his rivals of kowtowing to Moscow. It was widely suspected that the Kremlin supported Macron's far-right rival Marine Le Pen during the campaign.

In the run-up to the second round vote, Macron's team barred Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik from campaign rallies because of their “systematic desire to issue fake news and false information,” a Macron campaign aide said.

On Friday, two days before the runoff vote, a trove of Macron's campaign emails was leaked on the internet. A New York-based cyber intelligence consultancy, Flashpoint, said there were indications a hacker group with ties to Russian military intelligence was behind the attack.