On February 27, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Moscow on a working visit.

Jean-Yves Le Drian and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed in detail the status of, and prospects for relations between Russia and France. In particular, they spoke about the preparations for French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Russia, which is scheduled for May, and the official start of the Trianon Dialogue Civic Society Forum. The ministers emphasised the importance of maintaining the emerging positive dynamics in bilateral trade, exchanges in the economic and investment areas, as well as cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

The officials discussed at length the Syria crisis and the possibility of resolving it based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254. They noted that the basis for joint efforts in this area was Russia and France’s commitment to fully and irrevocably eradicate terrorism in Syria, provided that the country maintains its sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. The ministers stressed that all parties to the conflict had to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2401 on the settlement of humanitarian issues in Syria and that tension in the remaining pockets of conflict had to be de-escalated as soon as possible.

The foreign ministers of Russia and France reiterated that there was no alternative to the Minsk Package of Measures as a basis for political settlement in the southeast of Ukraine and spoke about the importance of further efforts under the Normandy format.