On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron called “ridiculous” remarks by Russia’s defence minister that Ukraine and France might have played a role in a Moscow concert hall attack, France 24 reported.
Macron’s comments came a day after a rare phone call between the French and Russian defence ministers. A statement from the Russian Defence Ministry quoted Sergei Shoigu as stating that Kyiv “does nothing without the approval of its Western handlers” and “we hope that the French special services weren’t involved in it.”
Macron declared that such comments “were indeed baroque and threatening, which is nothing new.”
In other words, it’s ridiculous. It makes no sense and doesn’t fit with reality.
France’s defence ministry stated that its minister Sébastien Lecornu strongly condemned the March 22 attack on Crocus City Hall in a Moscow outskirt that left 145 people dead. Lecornu “confirmed that France had no information linking this attack to Ukraine,” according to the ministry. He also condemned the war in Ukraine, declaring that France would continue to support Kyiv “as long and as intensively as needed.”
A Russian statement claimed that Shoigu warned France against the option of stationing troops in Ukraine in the future.
Macron claimed Thursday that the call was prompted by France’s willingness to share “useful information” about the terrorist attack in Moscow as part of “joint work with all those who are hit by terrorism.”
