Russia - Q&A from the press briefing (4 May 2021)

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Q : What is France’s response to the sanctions announced by Russia last Friday against European officials, including a French parliamentarian?

A : As the Minister said on Saturday, we strongly condemn the measures announced on April 30 by the Russian authorities against several European officials, including the President of the European Parliament, the Vice President of the European Commission, Ms. Jourová, and French lawmaker Jacques Maire. We reiterate our solidarity and support for them. These measures are unlikely to de-escalate current tensions and we therefore expect Russia to behave responsibly with that in mind.

This message was conveyed to the ambassador of the Russian Federation, Alexey Meshkov, on May 3, when he was summoned to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. On that occasion, we also expressed our concern over the recent adoption of the presidential decree concerning the number of local staff working at foreign diplomatic missions and called on Russia to refrain from implementing it.