Contents tagged with France

  • Putin, Merkel, and Hollande to discuss Syria after Normandy format meeting

    After today’s Normandy format meeting between the leaders of Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine to discuss the situation in the Donbas, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President François Hollande will discuss the war in Syria, RIA Novosti reported.

    According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, “Today the president [Putin] will travel to Berlin on a working meeting… of the Normandy format, which will include Putin, Hollande, Merkel, and Poroshenko… …

  • Hollande questions whether a meeting with Putin would be useful

    In an interview on French television, the president of France, François Hollande, stated that he asks himself a question whether it is necessary to meet with Putin in person on October 19, because he questions its usefulness.

    “I’ve asked myself, ‘would it be useful? Is it necessary or it will be a pressure? Can we guarantee that we will change what he [Putin] is doing with the Syrian regime, namely, supporting Syrian air forces that are bombing civilians in Aleppo?’” Hollande stated in an …

  • Poroshenko and Putin could meet in the coming weeks

    France and Germany hope to gather together the Normandy Four, the President of the French Republic, François Hollande reported. Hollande stated at the General Assembly of the United Nations that France and Germany are working on holding Normandy format negotiations in the coming weeks.

    “We, together with the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel have taken the initiative to arrange a meeting with the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine in the coming weeks in order to bring the Minsk Agreements …

  • Kyiv is skeptical about statements made by French and German Foreign Ministers about the Donbas

    Attempts made by the German and French foreign ministers to revive the Minsk Agreements in Moscow and the Donbas have caused a sharp reaction from Ukrainian politicians and experts. The foreign ministers discussed this issue during their visit to Kiev. Ukraine does not believe that Europe has the ability to ensure a ceasefire in the Donbas. They also do not agree with the ministers’ proposal on the procedure for the fulfillment of the Minsk Agreements, Deutsche Welle reported.

    Set against a …

  • French and German Foreign Ministers: We do not recognize the annexation of Crimea

    The German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said that their countries do not recognize the annexation of Ukrainian Crimea by Russia.

    "Concerning the second question, about the legitimacy of the elections to the State Duma in Crimea, as my colleague Ayrault said, we do not recognize and will not recognize the annexation of Crimea," Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, answering a question by a correspondent of LB.u as …

  • France increases its military presence in the Black Sea

    French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, during his visit to Georgia, said that a French warship will soon arrive in Batumi. According to the Minister, this is one of the symbols of French-Georgian cooperation.

    "The main message of my visit is that we are planning to increase the number of ships in the Black Sea. A warship will be located in Batumi, and this fact signifies the historic partnership between our countries, imbued with trust," the Minister said at the press conference.

    The …

  • French Defense Minister: France will help Georgia develop an air defense system

    France will help Georgia implement an air defense system, as stated by French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian during his visit to Tbilisi, Deutsche Welle reported.

    Le Drian said that France will “soon make a proposal for action so that Georgia is able to develop effective means of [ensuring] its air defense, which is central to its sovereignty.”

    The Minister added that in the near future, a French officer will arrive in Georgia who will oversee the implementation of new air defense …

  • Merkel and Hollande to discuss war in Ukraine at G20 conference

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande plan to discuss the peace process in eastern Ukraine at the forthcoming G20 conference in China, Deutsche Welle reported.

    Merkel stated that the EU is not seeing nearly enough progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements, and she wants to raise the subject at the meeting of the twenty largest economies in the world.

    "Germany and France agree on this, and we will work together to promote this topic,” the German …

  • Ukraine initiates criminal proceedings against French MPs who visited Crimea

    The Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s Office has initiated a criminal case against the French deputies who visited the Crimea in July of this year, the Ukrainian MP of the People’s Front party, George Logvinsky, wrote on his Facebook page.

    On August 11, Logvinsky reported that the Prosecutor’s Office “initiated pre-trial investigation of criminal proceedings over a criminal offense envisioned by part 1 of Article 332-1 [Violation of the procedure of entry to Ukraine’s temporarily occupied …

  • Hollande: The conflict in eastern Ukraine could escalate

    President of France François Hollande believes that there is a high likelihood that the situation in eastern Ukraine will deteriorate further.

    François Hollande spoke about the risk of the situation in eastern Ukraine becoming worse. “This summer the situation has become much worse. Risks of escalation are high,” the president of France stated on Tuesday, August 30 during an annual gathering of French ambassadors, Reuters reports.

    Hollande said that, together with Chancellor of Germany Angela …