Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, relations between France and Russia have deteriorated in particular because of Paris’ military support for kyiv.
Tone up. In recent weeks, Franco-Russian relations have cooled. Latest episode to date: a telephone exchange between the French and Russian Defense Ministers, Sébastien Lecornu and Sergueï Choïgu. In its report of this interview on counter-terrorism (the first in this area since October 2022), Russia indicated “hopes” that the French secret services are not involved in the attack perpetrated in the suburbs of Moscow on March 22. French President Emmanuel Macron denounced “baroque and threatening comments”.
The head of French diplomacy, Stéphane Séjourné, also estimated on Monday that Paris no longer saw the “interest” in discussing with Moscow, “since the press releases that come out, the reports that are made are false”. “We must first perhaps reestablish trust so that relations can be renewed,” said the minister. By calling his Russian counterpart, the French Minister of the Armed Forces wanted to transmit information on the attack which had just struck Moscow. “There was a long tradition in the field of terrorism between the two countries,” recalled Stéphane Séjourné. He added that Russia’s attitude was a sign that Moscow “no longer wanted to collaborate with Paris.”
Summons of the French ambassador to Moscow
The Russian response was not long in coming. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador to Moscow. Pierre Lévy “has been informed of the unacceptable nature of such statements, which have nothing to do with reality”, commented Russian diplomacy in a press release. “We consider these statements by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs as a conscious and deliberate action by the French side aimed at undermining the very possibility of any dialogue between the two countries,” she continued.
Against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine, relations between Paris and Moscow have deteriorated. At the start of the year, Russia notably claimed to have killed 60 French “mercenaries” in Kharkiv, in the north-east of Ukraine, while France denounced “a coordinated maneuver” of disinformation emanating from the Russians.