Le Drian: Russia ‘pretends’ to negotiate

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian today accused Russia of “pretending to negotiate” a ceasefire with Ukraine, while continuing to let “weapons speak”.

As in Aleppo (Syria) or Grozny (Chechnya) the “Russian logic (…) consists of the usual triptych: bombings indiscriminately, the so-called ‘humanitarian corridors’ created to then accuse the adversary of disrespecting and talking to them. “They have no other goal but to pretend to be negotiating,” Le Drian said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Parisien.

“Russia has chosen to let the guns speak” and “refuses for the time being” the ceasefire, Le Drian said, noting “the maximization of its demands”, “its desire to hand over Ukraine” and “its use siege as a tactic of war “.

On the contrary, the French minister assessed that Ukraine behaves “responsibly and is open to talks.”

For their part, the West has adopted a logic of “tightening sanctions” until (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin decides that the price he will pay for the continuation of the conflict is so high that it is better to agree to a truce and “start a real negotiation,” Le Drian stressed.

The French minister also said that if Russia used “chemical or biological weapons” in Ukraine, this “would be an unacceptable escalation and would lead to the imposition of massive and radical, taboo-free sanctions against Moscow.”

Source: Capital

You may also like