French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le DrianPARIS, Feb. 20 French Foreign Minister Jean -Yves Le Drian said that it is necessary to continue dialogue with Russia on Ukraine. «Until there is a new military aggression against the territorial integrity of Ukraine, we must continue to talk to each other. But this has been going on for two weeks, and tension continues to grow,» he said the French minister in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche.Macron accused Russia of the omnipotence of its propagandaLe Drian also called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to «put an end to this tension and confusion» in Ukraine. initiative» in Ukraine. On Saturday, Le Drian had a telephone conversation with Lavrov, the diplomats discussed the situation in Ukraine. The French minister expressed deep concern over the escalation of the conflict in the east of the country in recent days. «He answered me by saying that Russia does not intend to take military initiative and that Russia is free to organize military maneuvers on its territory. For him, the responsibility for non-compliance with the Minsk agreements on Donbass lies Ukraine,» Le Drian told the Journal du Dimanche.French Defense Minister urged not to leave NATOThe French Foreign Minister claims that «a significant accumulation of Russian offensive forces» is still observed on the border with Ukraine. «The Russians say they are in the process of reducing their forces after military exercises, but everything indicates that today their words are not followed by actions, but quite the opposite,» added the French minister. Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the EU will respond if Russian nuclear weapons are deployed on the territory of Belarus. In early February, French President Emmanuel Macron, following many hours of negotiations in the Kremlin, said that he was concerned about the words of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko about the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus, but noted that Russian leader Vladimir Putin reassured him about this. «Putin told President Macron in Moscow that the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus is not being considered and that at the end of the joint maneuvers of Russian troops in Belarus there will be no more … Otherwise, this would be a major change in European security, which cannot go unanswered,» Le Drian told the Journal du Dimanche. 
Lavrov and Le Drian stressed that there is no alternative to the Minsk agreementsBelarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti in December 2021 that Belarus would offer to place nuclear weapons on its territory if NATO takes a similar step in Poland. Lukashenko noted that nuclear weapons would be deployed in Belarus only in case of threats from the West. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Lukashenka's statement should be taken as a warning to the West. Western states have recently expressed concern about Russia's allegedly dangerous actions near the borders of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone and is not going to attack anyone, and statements about «Russian aggression» are used as an excuse to place more NATO military equipment near Russian borders. Allegations that Russia is allegedly preparing provocations in Ukraine continue to come from the West, despite the return of Russian troops to their places of deployment after the exercises. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The head of the Ministry of Defense reported that «a part of the exercises is coming to an end, a part will be completed in the near future.» The Southern and Western military districts of the Russian Federation have begun returning troops to their places of deployment, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Tuesday. The withdrawal of the military to their places of deployment after the exercises is a common practice, there is nothing new in this, Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to a question whether the withdrawal of troops means a de-escalation of the situation around Ukraine. At the same time, Peskov, answering a question from journalists about NATO statements about the absence of signs of de-escalation on the border with Ukraine, noted that NATO has problems in the system for assessing the situation. jpg» />The West counts Russia's defeat due to non-appearance for the warPosted by: Olga Filippova
