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MOSCOW, May 21 (RIA Novosti) - In the first conversation between the leaders of Russia and France since the French president's election, the sides vowed to maintain intensive political dialogue, the Kremlin said Monday.

In their phone conversation, Vladimir Putin and Nicolas Sarkozy "discussed the immediate prospects for setting up contacts at various levels," the Kremlin press service said.

Putin personally congratulated Sarkozy on his election as France's new president and his inauguration.

Sarkozy, who received more than 53% of votes in the May 6 presidential runoff, is now trying to rally support for his Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) ahead of parliamentary polls set for June 10 and 17.

The leader unveiled the lineup of his slim, but broad-based Cabinet last Friday, giving key posts to a centrist and a left-winger, as well as to representatives of his own conservative camp.