Russia summons French envoy in protest of foreign minister's remarks

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned French Ambassador Pierre Levy over recent remarks by France's top diplomat.

On its website, the ministry called "unacceptable" the remarks by Stephane Sejourne, the French foreign minister, about a lack of interest in talking to Russian officials because they later allegedly issue false statements on the results of these talks.

"We regard these remarks by the French foreign minister as a conscious and deliberate move by the French side aimed at undermining the very possibility of any dialogue between the two countries," a Russian statement said.

Sejourne's remarks came on Monday, four days after Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu had a phone call with his French counterpart Sebastian Lecornu about last month's attack on a concert hall in the Moscow region which killed some 150 people.

In a summary of the phone call, the Russian Defense Ministry said Shoygu warned Lecornu against sending French troops to Ukraine – a move President Emmanuel Macron declined to rule out in remarks in February and March.