Russia’s top diplomat says his French colleagues “occasionally” express desire to resolve strained relations
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that many French officials silently agree with millions of their citizens who have no desire to “sacrifice friendship” with Moscow for the dubious benefits of supporting the “Nazi regime” in Kiev.
Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow has been receiving signals, conveyed through informal channels, communicating Paris’s desire to repair relations between the two countries.
“Our French colleagues send us occasional signals that they really want to deal with the issues at hand, but they do this in a whisper,” Lavrov stated during a ceremony in Moscow, where he awarded the Order of Friendship to French-Russian businessman Emmanuel Quidet.
While relations between Russia and France have deteriorated over the Ukraine conflict, the “strength of the bond between us is evidenced by the fact that a number of French companies continued to operate in Russia despite threats and difficulties,” Lavrov said, praising Quidet for his work.
“We are deeply convinced that millions of people in France fully realize what is happening, and they have no desire to sacrifice friendship with Russia for the dubious benefits of supporting the Nazi regime,” the top diplomat added.
Lavrov criticized what he described as the “false, crude, and primitive interpretations” of the Ukraine conflict being planted in French public opinion, and accused Paris of playing a leading role in directing Ukraine toward confrontation with Russia.
Despite the political strains, Lavrov emphasized that a number of French companies have continued operating in Russia. “I am confident that they made the right choice,” he said, thanking Quidet – who holds an honorary presidency over a non-profit association of some 400 international companies – for his contribution to strengthening Franco-Russian relations.
France has become one of Kiev’s key backers during the conflict, as well as one of the primary proponents of the idea to deploy a military force into Ukraine, repeatedly floated by French President Emmanuel Macron.
France and the UK have actively promoted the idea within the so-called “coalition of the willing,” a group of around 30 of Kiev’s supporters. In recent days, however, the key advocates of a potential deployment have reportedly shown a weakening desire to send troops, as the group has failed to agree on an actual plan for deployment or the scope of the mission. Moscow has repeatedly warned strongly against the deployment of any NATO troops into Ukraine under any pretext.
