France refuses antiterrorism cooperation – Moscow — RT World News
The Russian ambassador said that Paris had stopped all field contacts, despite receiving assistance in the past
Russian Ambassador Alexei Meshkov said in an interview with French weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche on Sunday that Paris had cut off its cooperation with Moscow in the field of combating terrorism ahead of the upcoming Summer Olympics.
The diplomat made his comments just over two weeks after more than 140 people were killed during a terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall outside Moscow. France, which will host the Summer Olympics this year, raised its terrorism alert and increased security measures in Paris following the massacre.
Meshkov said that the two countries worked together historically to combat terrorism. But France recently cut off all contacts in this field.” said the diplomat. “The facts are undeniable: today, France provides significant support to Ukraine in terms of information exchange, while Ukraine carries out terrorist activities in Russia.”
Ukraine has engaged in assassinations and sabotage on Russian soil since Moscow launched its military operation in the neighboring country in February 2022. Although the jihadist group affiliated with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for the attack on Crocus City Hall, Russian investigators say they have found evidence pointing to Kiev's possible involvement.
“A few years ago, Russia shared its experiences in the field of security during the post-war period [2014] Sochi Olympics with France. But today, the French authorities have established a special mechanism to work with all foreign embassies accredited in Paris on security matters, but the Russian embassy was not invited or informed of this initiative.” – said Meshkov.
The diplomat promised that Russia would notify Paris if it received information about a security threat during the Games. But communication will be difficult because the embassy was like that “Completely cut off from any exchange of information about preparations for the Olympic Games.” Meshkov confirmed. “There is no dialogue with us.”
French President Emmanuel Macron claimed on Thursday that Russia was running a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining the upcoming Olympic Games. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the accusations “Totally unfounded.”
Relations between the two countries remain tense, as France remains one of Ukraine's main supporters in Europe. Moscow has repeatedly criticized Paris for sending SCALP-EG cruise missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, and accused it of allowing French… “Mercenaries” To fight for Kyiv.
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