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Russian Foreign Ministry summons French ambassador over minister Sejourne’s remarks

"We consider statements made by the French foreign minister as a conscious and deliberate action by the French side to undermine any possibility to have a dialogue between the two countries," the statement reads

French Ambassador to Russia Pierre Levy Mikhail Metzel/TASS

French Ambassador to Russia Pierre Levy

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. French Ambassador to Russia Pierre Levy was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow on Friday to talk over what French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said about Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"In connection with recent statements made by… French Foreign Minister [Stephane] Sejourne about France's lack of interest to hold talks with Russian officials since their either published or announced statements allegedly contain false information, the French ambassador was reprimanded over making such statements, as they have nothing to do with the real state of affairs," the ministry stated.

"We consider statements made by the French foreign minister as a conscious and deliberate action by the French side to undermine any possibility to have a dialogue between the two countries," the statement added.

Earlier this week, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne announced speaking on the air of France 24 television that Paris viewed it as unadvisable to hold talks with officials from Moscow today, as Russian officials were putting out inaccurate statements.

The French top diplomat stated earlier that France and Russia "have a long history of cooperation in the fight against terrorism," adding that "it is not in the interests of France today to hold discussions with Russian representatives because their communiques on the results of such talks are false."

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