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Russia regrets France closing trade mission

Moscow supposed that the closure of Business France agency might be triggered by a reform of the foreign trade system carried out in France

Russia’s Foreign Ministry Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

Russia’s Foreign Ministry

© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Russia regrets that France has closed its trade mission in Moscow and calls for development of bilateral economic relations, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

"On July 16, we received a note from France’s embassy to Moscow notifying us that the Business France agency is closing in Russia," the ministry said. "The French side’s decision to announce the closure of their trade mission is a sovereign right of France. We have only to regret that Paris failed to listen to our compelling recommendations."

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Embassy of France confirms closing of trade representation in Russia from July 16

Services provided by the Business France agency in Russia were commercial and in line with the foreign trade missions’ routine operation, which should be regulated by special international agreements (under Article 51 of the Federal Law ‘On Basic Principles of State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activity’ dated December 8, 2003). Nevertheless, this agreement has not been signed with France.

"The issue of Business France status was raised at talks of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs," the ministry said. "We told the French side many times that the mission’s status should be settled in line with Russian legislation. The partners were offered options of how to do it, either by registering a legal entity or by concluding a separate inter-governmental agreement with the Russian Federation."

"In this case, they should have never had problems similar to the present ones," the ministry added.

Moscow supposed that the closure of Business France agency might be triggered by a reform of the foreign trade system carried out in France. Under the reform, these agencies are either eliminated or their functions are delivered to local legal entities.

"For our part, we continue to call for development of the bilateral trade and economic ties and support the work in Russia of the bodies aimed at their boosting, but under the condition of being committed to requirements of Russian laws," the ministry said.

"The French partners’ step stands in contrast with the general aspiration among French businesses to promote potential ties, rather than just stay in Russia," the minister concluded.

France’s Embassy in Moscow said earlier that the trade and investment mission terminated services on July 16.

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