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French foreign minister’s resignation not expected to affect Normandy Four work

French Ambassador to Russia Jean-Maurice Riper stressed that every minister can have his own attitude but it is the president and the government who determine the policy line

Laurent Fabius AP Photo/Petr David Josek

Laurent Fabius

© AP Photo/Petr David Josek

MOPSCOW, February 11 /TASS/. The resignation of France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and a future appointment of his successor are unlikely to affect France’s work in the Normandy format, French Ambassador to Russia Jean-Maurice Riper told journalists on Thursday after meeting Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian Federation Council Committee for International Affairs.

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"Of course, every minister can have his own attitude but it is the president and the government who determine the [policy] line. I do not think that the new [foreign] minister is going to change this line," the French diplomat said.

Fabius announced his decision to quit the government after the French Council of Ministers’ meeting held the day before. "It was the last meeting of the Council of Ministers in which I took part," the outgoing French foreign minister said.

According to the French media, President Francois Hollande may soon appoint Fabius to chair the French Constitutional Court.

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