The French and Russian defense ministers spoke to each other, a first since the end of 2022
The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, spoke on Wednesday April 3 by telephone with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Choïgu. This is a first since October 2022. This interview comes a few days after the Moscow attack, claimed by the Islamic State organization.
French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, leaves the Élysée Presidential Palace after the weekly cabinet meeting, March 6, 2024. © Stéphane de Sakutin / Reuters
By: RFI with AFP
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Sébastien Lecornu
“ recalled
France
's availability
” for “
increased exchanges
” with Moscow in the fight against “
terrorism
”, according to a press release, which underlines that the French minister also “
unreservedly condemned the war of aggression that
Russia
launched in Ukraine
.
This one-hour conversation was held at the initiative of Paris, which recalled that France "
did not have any information allowing a link between this attack and Ukraine
" to be established" and asked Russia to “
stop all exploitation
”.
“
Increased cooperation
” against terrorism
On March 22,
armed men
entered a concert hall before opening fire on the crowd and setting the building on fire. At least 144 people died and 360 were injured in this attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. The Kremlin admitted that “
radical Islamists
” had been behind the attack, while denouncing a Ukrainian lead. Twelve suspects were arrested, including the four alleged attackers, from Tajikistan.
The branch of IS suspected of being behind the attack on Moscow “
had carried out several attempts in recent months
” on French “
soil
”, Emmanuel Macron declared shortly after. “
We have offered the Russian services, as well as our partners in the region, increased cooperation
,” the French president said. The United States, for its part, indicated that it had warned Moscow that an attack was being prepared.
Rare high-level talks
The discussion between the two ministers is in itself important, as high-level talks are rare between the pro-Ukraine Western camp and Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last spoke on the phone in April 2023, with Sergei Shoigu having spoken with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin the previous month.
Russia regularly sends Sergei Lavrov to G20 meetings, including in February this year, but there is no indication that he has spoken directly with Western officials.
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