On Friday, November 12, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Florence Parly, Minister for the Armed Forces, received their Russian counterparts, Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Shoygu, within the framework of the Franco-Russian Cooperation Council for Security Issues. The Government of France expressed concern about the deterioration of the security situation in Ukraine. This was reported by the press service of the French Foreign Ministry.
The two Ministers expressed their concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine and clearly warned of the grave consequences that would have any fresh attempts to undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
They called on Moscow to reinvest in the Normandy Format negotiations and agree for a N4 ministerial meeting to be held in the near future, consistent with President Putin’s commitment. They also reminded Russia of the commitments it has made, within the framework of the OSCE, regarding the transparency of military movements and activities and the full implementation of the confidence-building and transparency measures provided for within this framework.
On a separate note, with regard to the situation in Belarus, the two Ministers condemned the irresponsible and unacceptable behaviour of the Belarusian authorities when it comes to the use of migration flows for political ends targeting several European Union countries. They encouraged Russia to mobilize its close ties with Belarus to ensure that this behaviour is put to an end.
French Ministers addressed strategic stability issues, expressing their concern about the gradual elimination of arms control regimes in Europe. They welcomed the resumption of US-Russia dialogue on strategic stability, emphasizing that these discussions should fully take into account the security interests of Europeans. They underscored the importance of maintaining the channels of communication between the European Union and Russia, as well as Russia and NATO.
The Ministers also expressed their growing concerns about the human rights and civil liberties situation in Russia, particularly with regard to the situation of Alexei Navalny. Lastly, they stressed the importance of resolving the MH17 affair.