France has denied Russia's claims that it expressed readiness to engage in dialogue on Ukraine or discuss possible peace talks during a telephone conversation between Defense Minister Sébastien Le Coronneu and Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday, April 3. This was reported by Reuters with reference to the words of a French government source, UNN reports.
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According to Reuters, two years after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said that a conversation between French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecorne and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu noted "readiness for dialogue on Ukraine.
According to him, the starting point for discussions could be the 2022 talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey, which ended without results.
"This is not true. We have never demonstrated our readiness for a dialogue on Ukraine, negotiations or anything like that," a source in the French government said.
A French report on the first Paris-initiated talks since October 2022 says that the conversation was about the increased terrorist threat after the attack in Moscow, for which an Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility.
In its turn, the Russian statement said that any idea of holding a meeting in Switzerland to achieve peace in Ukraine is "meaningless" if Russia does not participate.
Shoigu also noted that any "practical implementation" of Macron's proposal last month to send troops to Ukraine "will create problems for France.
In contrast, a statement by the French Ministry of Defense condemned the "aggressive war" waged by Russia against Ukraine.
"France will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes and as intensively as necessary," the statement said.
Lekornyu held talks with Shoigu: what the defense ministers discussed03.04.24, 19:47