French President Emmanuel Macron has strongly criticised Russia’s “threatening” rhetoric following rare phone discussions between the French and Russian defence ministers. These talks only highlighted the significant divide between Moscow and Europe, particularly in the aftermath of the Ukraine invasion.
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu initiated contact with Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, expressing France’s willingness to enhance cooperation in combating terrorism.
However, Russia responded by cautioning France against potential involvement of French secret services in a recent attack on a Moscow concert hall claimed by Islamic State extremists. Macron dismissed these remarks as absurd and characterised them as “bizarre and threatening”.
Macron affirmed that France had communicated with Russia, offering valuable information regarding the origin and organisation of the attack.
He stressed that suggestions implicating France or Ukraine in the attack were baseless manipulations of information perpetuated by Russia.
The Kremlin and Russian propaganda have propagated narratives implicating the West and Ukraine in the attacks, a notion denounced by Western countries and Kyiv as absurd.
Despite Moscow’s claim of readiness for dialogue on Ukraine following the talks between Lecornu and Shoigu, France swiftly rejected the idea.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, contacts between Moscow and Western officials have significantly dwindled.
While some in France criticised the government for engaging in talks with Russia, Macron defended the discussions, emphasising the importance of joint efforts with all parties affected by terrorism.
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