France expressed its readiness to resume contacts with Russia if they prove effective and useful, since negotiations between the heads of the defense departments of the two countries made it possible to avoid escalation between them in difficult moments. This was stated by the Minister of the French Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu on November 12 on the TV channel LCI.
“A series of conversations allowed us to contain the escalation at very sensitive moments,” Lecornu said. He also noted that nuclear powers have special obligations to each other.
The French Defense Minister added that during several meetings with the head of the Russian Defense Ministry Sergei Shoigu, the countries discussed “very specific things in the sphere of resolving potential escalation.”
“I haven’t spoken to the minister since then. I am ready to talk to him again when it is useful and effective,” he concluded.
Earlier, on November 7, France disrupted Russia’s participation in the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris due to the failure to issue visas to representatives of the Russian delegation. Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova noted that the country does not comply with its obligations. The director of the department for multilateral humanitarian cooperation and cultural relations of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Alimov, the executive secretary of the commission, Tatyana Dovgalenko, as well as an employee of the Russian Federation Commission for UNESCO, who is responsible for issues of communication and information, were not allowed into France.
The last time negotiations between Lecornu and Shoigu took place was on October 23 last year. During the telephone conversation, the heads of defense departments discussed the situation in Ukraine. Then they noted a tendency towards further, uncontrolled escalation. In particular, the topic of possible provocations by Kyiv against Moscow with the use of a “dirty bomb” was raised.
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