Contents tagged with France

  • French Foreign Minister: Syria is a 'military trap' for Russia

    Russian leadership has a good chance to get out of the military trap it has gotten itself into, expressed the Foreign Minister of France, Jean-Marc Ayrault, commenting on the further development of the situation in Syria after the publication of the report on the use of chemical weapons by the Russian-supported Assad regime, RFI reported.

    According to the French Minister, the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime in 2014 and 2015 is "not only illegal but morally unacceptable for those …

  • Ukrainian Ambassador in France: Relations between Paris and Kiev may deteriorate

    After the elections in France next year, relations with Kyiv may deteriorate. The Ambassador of Ukraine to France, Oleh Shamshur, expressed this opinion in an interview with Europeyska Pravda.

    According to him, potential successors to the current president Hollande – Le Pen and Sarkozy – have not yet spoken about their vision for the Normandy group (Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany); however, their position regarding the restoration of relations with Russia does not favor Ukraine.

    "2017 …

  • French Foreign Ministry says its position on the Crimea remains unchanged

    A representative from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romain Nadal, stated that the official position of France on the Crimea remains unchanged – the accession of the peninsula was illegal. Nadal noted that attempts by the Russian authorities to legitimize the accession of the Crimea by electing representatives from the peninsula to the Russian State Duma will not change France’s position.

    “On the 16th of August, the president of the republic recalled the consistent position of France …

  • Despite visit by French MPs, French Foreign Ministry reaffirms stance that Crimea is Ukrainian territory

    A comment about the non-recognition of the Crimea’s annexation was published on the website of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 1st as a response to last week’s visit by French deputies to the peninsula.

    "Redrawing the borders is contrary to international law. Therefore, the international community, the EU and France do not recognize the illegal annexation of the Crimea. This clear position can in no way be called into question neither by travels, nor by the statements which …

  • French MPs to visit Crimea

    The planned visit of French parliamentarians to Crimea is evidence that the sanctions are ineffective, a Member of the French National Assembly for French residents overseas, Thierry Mariani, said in an interview with RIA Novosti this Thursday, July, 28 2016 in Moscow.

    The delegation of 11 French parliamentarians led by a member of the National Assembly, the former Minister of Transport of France, Thierry Mariani, will visit the Crimea from 29 to 31 July, 2016.

    "The delegation consisted of …

  • The French Foreign Ministry condemned French Parliament's intention to visit Crimea

    Paris called the French Parliament’s intention to visit the occupied Crimea an “illegal initiative” which has “nothing to do with the position of the French Foreign Ministry, the European Union or the entire international community.” This was stated by the French Foreign Ministry spokesman, Romain Nadal, UKRINFORM reports.

    “The French position is clear and consistent: together with the European Union and the entire international community, France does not recognize the illegal annexation of …

  • Polish media: French-German superpower will replace the European Union

    Polish State Channel TVP has claimed that Germany and France have grandiose aspirations. Both nations are allegedly attempting to create a new European superpower to rival the European Union. Polish journalists based their allegations on a document prepared by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Germany and France, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Jean-Marc Ayrault, respectively.

    The project should be presented at the meeting of the heads of diplomacy of the Visegrad Four countries, the Czech …

  • Media: The next Normandy Format meeting could be held before the NATO Summit

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande want to hold a meeting in Minsk with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to revive the process of implementing the Minsk Agreements, reported the German newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung, citing sources in the German government.

    According to the newspaper, serious efforts are being made to arrange a new Minsk meeting. The newspaper quoted Merkel, who said at a recent meeting with the Prime …

  • Poroshenko to meet with Hollande in Paris

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will travel to France to meet with his French counterpart François Hollande, where the two leaders plan to discuss bilateral relations, sanctions against Russia, ending the war in the Donbas, and restoring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, Ukrinform reported citing diplomatic sources.

    Poroshenko will meet with Hollande on Tuesday, June 21st.

    The Ukrainian President is also scheduled to meet with the Chairmen of both chambers of the …

  • Head of Crimea thanks French investor for French Senate's call to lift sanctions on Russia

    The head of Russian-Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, while speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, thanked the President of French investment company Thomas Vendome, Jean-Pierre Thomas, for "his fundamentally friendly attitude" toward Russia and the Crimea. This was reported by the press service of Sergey Aksyonov.

    "In many ways, his [Jean-Pierre Thomas’s] personal position played an important role in the decision of the Parliament of France to ease sanctions against Russia. When …