the Russian and French army ministers expressed “a willingness to dialogue”, affirms Moscow, Paris denies

French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Choïgu appeared on Wednesday April 3 “willing to dialogue” concerning the conflict in Ukraine during a telephone exchange, assured the Russian Defense Ministry. The interview is a first since October 2022 and takes place a few days after the attack near Moscow (Russia) claimed by the Islamic State organization.

“A willingness to dialogue regarding Ukraine was noted,” said the Russian ministry in a press release reporting this call. The assertion was denied by Paris a few minutes later, a government source told franceinfo, confirming information from AFP.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said it hoped that “the French secret services” were not involved in the attack near Moscow. “The Kiev regime does nothing without the approval of its Western supervisors. We hope that, in this case, the French special services are not behind it”affirmed Sergei Shoigu, in the press release from his ministry reporting the call.