Russia’s Lavrov says France sought talks without including Kyiv

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claims France reached out to Moscow to discuss Ukraine, but without including Kyiv in talks.

“Several times, through closed channels, our French colleagues contacted us … By the way, without Ukraine,” Lavrov said in an interview with several media cited by the RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday.

Paris responded to Lavrov’s attempted diplomatic hit-job by saying Russia had to take full responsibility for ending the war it started, and insisting a peace treaty could only be concluded on Ukraine’s terms.

“The Russian authorities are used to making intemperate statements designed to manipulate a war of aggression for which they bear full responsibility. If Russia wants peace, it must put an end to the war,” a French diplomatic official said in response to Lavrov’s comments.

“As France has reiterated since the beginning of the war, it is up to Ukraine, the aggressed country, to define the time and conditions under which they wish to engage in a negotiation process. Ukraine has proposed a peace formula that France supports. A peace concluded without the Ukrainians could never be a lasting peace,” the official added.

In his attack against the French position, Lavrov blasted what he described as France’s “ambiguous” attitude. He took particular aim at French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to set up a postwar peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

“Such ambiguous behavior does not create a desire to take seriously what is happening at the initiative of our French colleagues,” Lavrov said.

Last month, Macron commented on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by stating that “taking initiatives” was “always positive” but that “no matter what he says, [Putin] does not want peace and is not ready to negotiate.”

Macron said he did not rule out starting a new dialogue with Putin — indeed he was the world leader who went out on a limb in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent a war three years ago — but only “when the context and conditions are appropriate.”