Macron’s comments came a day after a rare phone call between the French and Russian defense ministers that led to diverging media statements afterward.
“In other words, it’s ridiculous,” Macron added.
“It makes no sense and doesn’t fit with reality” to say that France “could be behind it (the Moscow attack) and that the Ukrainians are behind it,” he said.
Lecornu “confirmed that France had no information linking this attack to Ukraine,” the statement said.
He also condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine and said France would continue to support Kyiv “as long and as intensively as needed,” according to the French defense ministry.
The Russian readout said Shoigu warned France against the possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine in the future, an option that has not been ruled out by Macron.
The call marked the first such contact between Russian and French defense ministers since October 2022.
Macron argued Thursday that it was prompted by France’s willingness to share “useful information” on the Moscow attack as part of “joint work with all those who are hit by terrorism.”
Macron’s remarks were made the day after the defense ministers of France and Russia had an unusual phone conversation that resulted in different media releases.
Sergei Shoigu told his French counterpart that “we hope that the French special services weren’t involved in it” and that “the Kyiv regime does nothing without approval of its Western handlers” in reference to the Moscow attack, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry. “.
Speaking to reporters outside the opening of a swimming pool constructed for the Olympics in a northern Parisian suburb, Macron stated that such remarks “were indeed baroque and threatening, which is nothing new.”.
To put it another way, Macron said, “It’s absurd.”.
Saying that France “could be behind it (the Moscow attack) and that the Ukrainians are behind it” is absurd and unbelievably inconsistent with reality, he said. However, it is an information manipulation tactic that is currently employed by Russia in its warfare. “.
Following the phone call on Wednesday, the French defense ministry released a statement stating that Sébastien Lecornu, the minister, strongly denounced the March 22 attack on a concert hall in a Moscow suburb that resulted in 145 deaths, making it the deadliest attack on Russian territory in decades.
The statement said that Lecornu “confirmed that France had no information linking this attack to Ukraine.”.
According to the French defense ministry, he also denounced Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine and declared that France would back Kyiv “as long and as intensively as needed.”.
According to the Russian readout, Macron has not ruled out the prospect of France sending troops to Ukraine in the future, as Shoigu warned France against doing so.
The conversation was the first time that the defense ministers of France and Russia had spoken since October 2022.
Macron claimed on Thursday that it was brought about by France’s readiness to provide “useful information” about the attack in Moscow as part of their “joint work with all those who are hit by terrorism.”. “.”.
Although Kyiv has vigorously denied any involvement in the attack, an affiliate of the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility, and the U.S. has been warned in advance, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his officials have attempted to connect Ukraine and the West to the incident. s. sent alerting Moscow to an impending attack.
(AP).
