On February 19, at the initiative of the French side, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic J.-I. Le Drian.
The foreign ministers continued a thorough exchange of views in the light of the talks between the Presidents of Russia and France held in Moscow on February 7.
In the development of Russian initiatives on the coordination of legally enshrined security guarantees in Europe, Sergey Lavrov stressed to J.-I. Le Drian the need for all states to faithfully comply with the commitments approved at the highest level in the OSCE and within the framework of relations between Russia and NATO to ensure equal and indivisible security based on a balance of interests of the parties. He emphasized that ignoring Russia’s legitimate rights in this area adversely affects stability not only on the European continent, but also in the world as a whole.
When considering the situation in the south-east of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov stated the lack of progress in the settlement of the internal Ukrainian conflict due to the persistent unwillingness of the Kiev authorities to fully comply with the requirements of the Minsk agreements, including direct dialogue with representatives of Donetsk and Lugansk, and the consolidation of the special status of Donbass in Ukraine in the constitution. It was stressed that Kiev, with the connivance of Paris and Berlin, which are members of the Normandy format, defiantly refuses to fulfill its obligations under the Minsk Package of Measures, is increasing military forces on the contact line in Donbass, is conducting a campaign to militarize the population and continues armed provocations. The foreign ministers once again confirmed that there is no alternative to the implementation of the Minsk Agreements in order to achieve sustainable peace in Ukraine.
Sergey Lavrov and J.-I. Le Drian also discussed a number of topical issues of bilateral cooperation of mutual interest.
We discussed the schedule of further political contacts.
