French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecorneau assured his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in a rare phone call that France was ready to step up exchanges to fight "terrorism" following the deadly Islamic State attack in Moscow.
The two also discussed the war in Ukraine, with Lecorneux confirming France's support for Ukraine's fight against Russia, the French defense ministry said.
Such high-level contact between a senior Russian official close to President Vladimir Putin and a senior minister from a European power is rare in the two years since Russia's invasion. The hour-long conversation between Shoigu and Lecorneux came as France ramps up preparations to host the Olympics this year.
The March 22 attack on a concert hall in Moscow has revived security fears for the Paris Games, which begin on July 26. Lecorne told Shoigu that France is always ready to face "terrorism" and is prepared for "increased exchanges in order to fight this threat as effectively as possible," the French defense ministry said in a statement.
Putin acknowledged that "radical Islamists" carried out the attack in Moscow that killed at least 144 people, but suggested they were linked to Ukraine. Lecorneux said France had no information to establish a link with Ukraine, calling on Moscow to stop promoting the thesis of such a link, the ministry said. Lecorneux reiterated France's "categorical condemnation and solidarity with the victims and their families," the ministry said, adding that he "also unreservedly condemns the war of aggression that Russia has launched in Ukraine."
Struggle for freedom
Lecorne reminded Shoigu that "France will continue to support Ukraine as long and as intensively as necessary in its struggle for freedom and sovereignty to bring peace and security to the European continent," the French ministry added.
President Emmanuel Macron said in March that France had offered Russian security services "increased cooperation", adding that there would be contact at a "technical and ministerial level" rather than direct talks with Putin. French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera noted that there was no "concrete" terrorist threat to the Paris Olympics and organizers planned to go ahead with the opening ceremony on the Seine River with hundreds of thousands lining the banks.
France has been repeatedly targeted by Islamist militants, and French authorities have asked foreign allies to send several thousand security personnel to help guard the Olympics.
The French leader tried in a series of phone calls in 2022 to warn Putin against invading Ukraine and traveled to Moscow earlier that year. He has maintained telephone contact with Putin even after the invasion, but talks have now ceased, with the last conversation between the presidents dating back to September 2022. In recent months, Macron has hardened his stance against Russia, refusing to rule out troop deployments in Ukraine.
Lecornu and Shoigu last spoke by phone in October 2022. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke by phone in April 2023, and Shoigu spoke with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin a month earlier. Lavrov regularly travels to G20 meetings, but there is no record of speaking directly with Western officials there. /BGNES, AFP
