The Kremlin punished this Wednesday, April 9, the brief arrest of Sunday in France on Wednesday in France of a Russian government employee at Charles de Gaulle airport, stating that “aggravates even more relations between Paris and Moscow.
According to Moscow, an employee of the Russian Foreign Ministry was held on Sunday one day for border services in this large airport, near Paris, before being authorized to enter France.
The relations between Moscow and Paris have frozen since the Kremlin caused, more than three years ago, its great scale offensive against Ukraine, supported by France.
“Inadmissible”
“We condemn such acts in France and we consider them inadmissible (…) this aggravates our bilateral relations already damaged even more,” denounced the spokesman for the Russian presidency Dmitri Peskov, during an informative session. At the moment, the French authorities have not reacted to these accusations.
Previously, Russian diplomacy announced on Wednesday that it had summoned the new French ambassador to Moscow, Nicolas de Rivière, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
“What happened on April 6 at Charles de Gaulle airport is inexplicable,” said the spokesman for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, during his weekly information session.
“French border services have without explanation of an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, a member of the Russian official delegation, and has seized his telephone and computer,” he said.
A Russian “consular agent” was quickly sent on the spot, before being able to exchange with the chosen employee.
“After the procedures taken, our colleague was finally authorized to enter the country, but had to spend a day in the border area of the airport,” said Maria Zakharova.
The spokesman for Russian diplomacy added that Moscow had notified his “strong protest” to the French ambassador to Moscow, during his call to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on an unrecognized date.
“We do not intend to leave this situation without consequences,” he also warned María Zakharova, after this new diplomatic incident.
Russia accused of acts of destabilization
In recent months, Russia has been accused of a series of acts of destabilization and disinformation in the French territory, while France is criticized for its military and diplomatic support in kyiv.
Last February, French head of state Emmanuel Macron, very active in the diplomatic front with Ukraine, had described Russia as “existential threat to Europeans.”
In the Russian public media, the French government has been the subject of many criticism, in particular from warming, under the leadership of Donald Trump, relations between Moscow and the United States, which were previously the main objective of the attacks.
Following the Russian assault against Ukraine, France had expelled 41 Russian diplomats who, according to her, participated in spy activities under the cover of the embassy in Paris.
Moscow had responded by declaring in the process 34 French diplomats personnel non grat av in its territory.
In this very tense context, a French appearance, Laurent Vinatier, was sentenced in October 2024 by a three -year Moscow court for not having registered as “agent abroad.”
Paris has multiple occasions an “arbitrary” conviction and requested his “immediate liberation.”
Source: BFM TV
