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For the first time in a long time, the French Defense Minister decided to call Moscow.At the urgent request of the French side, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry held a telephone conversation with his French counterpart.
According to the press service of the French ministry, Sebastian Lecornu began the conversation by condemning the terrorist attack on Russian citizens in the Crocus City Hall on March 22 and expressed condolences. At the same time, Sebastian Lecornu hastened to declare that “France does not have any information that would allow Ukraine to be linked to the terrorist attack in the Moscow region.” The French Minister declared France’s readiness to strengthen cooperation with Russia in countering terrorism.
The Russian side confirmed that the Ministers discussed the terrorist attack. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Sebastian Lecornu “persistently tried to convince of the non-involvement of Ukraine and Western countries in the terrorist attack, shifting responsibility to ISIS”.
In response, Sergei Shoigu stressed that the investigation launched of the terrorist attack will certainly be brought to its end, and all those responsible will be punished. There is information about the Ukrainian trace in the organization of the terrorist attack.
“The Kiev regime does nothing without the approval of Western curators. We hope that in this case the French special services are not behind this,” the head of the Russian military department commented on the issue.
This was the first conversation between the Ministers since October 2022. While the officials are trying to highlite the topic of the terrorist attack, the main goal of the French (NATO) military was likely to probe the Russian position to the possible deployment of the French military in Ukraine. The Russian side seems adamant on this issue:
‘Regarding the statements of the Elysee Palace about sending the French contingent to Ukraine, Sergei Shoigu pointed out that if they are implemented in practice, this will create problems for France itself,’ the Russian MoD reported.
The Russian military claimed that readiness for dialogue on Ukraine was noted. The initial provisions could be based on the “Istanbul Peace Initiative”. Holding a meeting in Geneva without Russia’s participation is pointless, the Russian military concluded.
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