Contents tagged with France

  • Normandy Format Ministers have yet to reach an agreement on the issues of elections in the Donbas

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, stated that he does not feel that any breakthroughs were made during the talks between the Foreign Ministers of the ‘Normandy Four’ countries in Paris, Reuters reports.

    The Foreign Ministers of Ukraine, Germany, Russia and France were unable to agree on the key issue of the meeting- the elections in specified districts of the Donbas region.  Germany and France have proposed to hold elections in the first half of 2016.  Moscow, …

  • Mayor of Nice says Crimea is Russian territory during visit by Mayor of Yalta

    The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, met with a delegation from the occupied Crimea and signed a letter of intent with the Administration of Yalta, as stated on Christian Estrosi’s website.

    The delegation of the mayor of Yalta was on an official visit in Nice from February 26 – March 1st. The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to France, Alexander Orlov, was also present at the meeting.

    The delegation’s visit was referred to as symbolic, as it was the "first time since the referendum on …

  • Russia has taken necessary steps to ensure that mistral carrier payments to France weren't expropriated as part of Yukos case

    The Russian Federation has taken necessary steps to make sure that payments "weren't seized as part of the Yukos case expropriation," a source in the military and diplomatic circles said. Paris met Moscow halfway on this matter.

    Funds amounting to one billion Euros, paid by the Russians in advance for the construction of two Mistral helicopter carriers, were returned to Moscow shortly after the cancellation of the contract as reported on Monday, February 22nd, by the Rambler News Service (RNS), …

  • French and German Foreign Ministers visit Kiev

    On the 22nd of February, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Germany and France, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Jean-Marc Ayrault, who arrived in Berlin on the same day, flew from the German capital for a two-day visit to Kiev. 

    They flew on board a German governmental plane immediately after a brief meeting and press conference in the departure lounge of the government terminal at the Tegel airport. The negotiating agenda was more than full.

    Firstly, the Special Representative of the OSCE in …

  • France’s far-right National Front asks Russia for €27 million loan

    France’s far-right National Front party has asked Russia for a €27 million loan to help finance its 2017 election campaigns, The Times reported on Friday, citing the party’s treasurer, Wallerand de Saint-Just.

    In 2014, the National Front, led by Marine Le Pen, received an €11 million loan from a bank with Russian ties. At the time, French media claimed that the loan bought the party’s support for Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

    Le Pen’s party claims that the results of the Crimean referendum in 2 …

  • Court Rejects Appeal made by Former Yukos Shareholders to Suspend Construction of Orthodox Center in Paris

    A French Court rejected an appeal made by former Yukos shareholders to suspend the construction of an Orthodox Center in Paris. This plot of land belongs to the Presidential Property Management Department of the Russian Federation. The plot is almost 5,000 square metres, and is located near the Eiffel Tower.

    However, the Court rejected the appeal of the former Yukos shareholders, explaining that this plot is protected by diplomatic immunity. On the 22nd of January, the Collegiate Council …

  • Canal + will not engage in public discussion of anti-Ukraine documentary

    The management of the private French channel, Canal +, refuses to engage in any public discussion regarding the Paul Moreira propaganda film, “Ukraine, Masks of the Revolution.”

    "The management has no intention of engaging in an open dialogue concerning discussion of the scandalous and misleading anti-Ukrainian film,” representatives stated.

    The original broadcast occurred on the 1st of February, with the channel planning to repeat it the next day.

    The film documents the events which …

  • French MFA: Russia's support for Assad regime is 'torpedoing' peace talks

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Loran Fabius, has stated that Russian and Iranian support for Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad is detrimental to the Syrian peace process.

    “This is completely torpedoing peace talks in Geneva,” Fabius stated.  He said this upon his arrival to an informal meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the EU.

    “It requires a political decision.  Political discussions cannot be conducted when one of the parties destroys another.  Both parties have to return …

  • French Reporters Publish Open Letter in Protest of Anti-Ukrainian Propaganda on Canal +

    French reporters who work in Ukraine have published an open letter in which they expressed their outrage regarding the broadcast of a propagandistic movie concerning events in Ukraine by French TV Channel Canal+. “We are reporters who are regularly working in Ukraine. Some of us are constant reporters in Kiev and the surrounding regions, the others regularly visit Ukraine,” they noted at the beginning of the letter.

    “On the 1st of February we were shocked by the documentary film by Paul …

  • France Calls on Russia to Halt Airstrikes against Civilians in Syria

    After meeting with one of the coordinators for the Syrian opposition, Rayad Farid Hijab, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Laurent Fabius, told reporters that Syria and Russia must halt military operations against civilians. According to the Minister they have discussed the absolute need to halt military actions which Russian and Syrian Government forces are taking against civilians. Fabius specified that the discussion was focused on the small Syrian town of …