The ‘menacing’ call with Russia that’s turning into a diplomatic headache for France – POLITICO

Former French President François Hollande recommended that the French government seek “no contact with Russia.”

“Do you see how Russia is manipulating these discussions and suggesting that France could have supported the attacks in Moscow?” he declared on France Inter radio.

Russia also claimed that Lecornu and Shoigu had discussed possible negotiations on Ukraine, a statement that was quickly denied by another French official.

“The objective of this call was exclusively to discuss terrorism, and the talk that France would be open to negotiations on Ukraine is false,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.

According to the French press release, Lecornu proposed intensifying exchanges between France and Russia in the fight against terrorism at a time when France is facing increased terrorist threats in the run-up to the Paris Olympic Games and while Israel’s war in Gaza continues.

Former French Defense Minister and current envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, denounced on Wednesday on Sud Radio what he called Russia’s “imperceptible and intolerable” use of the call.

“This is extreme manipulation. We are facing total manipulation and unfortunately an instrumentalization of terrorism for propaganda purposes,” he said.

This call between the French and Russian defense ministers is the first exchange between the two men since October 2022, and was initiated by Lecornu at the request of Macron.