It is no longer in our interest to talk to Russian officials – French foreign minister

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said that it is no longer "in Paris' interest" to hold discussions with Russian representatives because Moscow distorts the content of such talks. Source: Sejourne on a joint interview with France24 and RFI, European Pravda reports Details: Sejourne said that it is "not in our (France's - ed.) interest to hold discussions with Russian officials because the communiques that are published and the reports that are made by them are full of lies".

He suggested that in order to resume dialogue with Moscow, "perhaps trust needs to be established first, and perhaps above all, we need to see developments on the military front in Ukraine so that relations can be restored".

"So far, this is not the case," the French foreign minister stated. Commenting on the last official contact between Russian and French officials at the level of the Defence Ministry, Sejourne said that "the long tradition of cooperation with Russia in the fight against terrorism" is now at a standstill. "In fact it does not continue, since it was just a proposal, but the Russian communique in the Russian language suggests that we refuse to cooperate," he concluded.

Last week, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecorne had a telephone conversation with Sergei Shoigu, the first such interaction since October 2022. The conversation focused primarily on the terrorist attack committed by the Islamic State in the Moscow Oblast on 22 March. After the conversation, the Russian Ministry of Defence said that during the conversation between Lecorne and Shoigu, "readiness for dialogue on Ukraine was noted".

In response, a representative of the French government called this statement untrue.

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