France Says No Longer In Its “Interest” To Talk To Russia

Macron in February infuriated Moscow by suggesting Western troops could be deployed in Ukraine.

Paris:

France’s foreign minister said Monday it was no longer in Paris’s “interest” to talk to Russia after differing accounts emerged from a rare phone call about last month’s deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall.

“It is not in our interest currently to hold discussions with Russian officials because the statements and the summaries issued about them are lies,” Stephane Sejourne told broadcasters France24 and RFI.

French President Emmanuel Macron last week slammed what he termed Russia’s “bizarre and threatening” tone following a conversation between French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu.

France said Lecornu had aimed to pass on to Moscow “useful information” about the March 22 attack which killed more than 140 people near the Russian capital.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lecornu’s ministry had reported him as saying France was ready to step up exchanges to battle “terrorism”.

But Russia responded by warning France it hoped the French secret services had not been involved in the attack, according to a readout from the Russian defence ministry.

Before France can talk to the Russians again, “perhaps we must first establish trust, perhaps above all have the military situation develop on the ground in Ukraine to enable a renewal of relations. This is not currently the case,” said Sejourne.

Macron in February infuriated Moscow by suggesting Western troops could be deployed in Ukraine, which Russia invaded two years ago.

Sejourne concluded that the “long tradition with Russia of cooperation on terrorism” had now come to a standstill.

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