French FM: Lavrov refuses meeting with Ukraine, Germany, France over war in Ukraine

The French Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Russia had refused to hold a ministerial meeting with France, Ukraine and Germany to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine and denied that it had failed to respond to Moscow’s proposals.

“It’s wrong,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said in response to Russian allegations that neither Paris nor Berlin had responded to Russian proposals for a draft declaration on such a meeting.

“France and Germany have responded to Russia’s proposals. They have proposed a ministerial meeting in the form of Normandy, which has been rejected by the Russian Foreign Minister.”

The Tass news agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Saturday that Paris and Berlin had not responded to Russia’s proposal to discuss a final document before the meeting in the so-called Normandy format.

Zakharova also said on social media on Tuesday that Russia was not trying to slow down preparations for the Normandy summit, but “instead does not want to take part in an empty organized event.”

The German government said on October 11 that after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emanuel Macron had phone calls with the presidents of Ukraine and Russia to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, all sides agreed to meet with their foreign ministers.

Echoing Paris comments, a German Foreign Ministry source said Moscow was involved in “obstruction” and was setting unacceptable conditions for a meeting.

“Russia is trying to change its role from one party to the conflict to a neutral mediator. This is an old position, but it is not accepted by Ukraine, Germany or France,” a source in the German foreign ministry said.