French President Emmanuel Macron’s statements regarding his concern about the expansion of African countries’ ties with Russia are offensive; more ethical statements could be expected from the French side, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters following a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA) of SCO member states.
"As for President Macron and his statements, indeed, in general, one would expect more ethical statements from the French. Because he said, if I remember correctly, something like this: he is concerned about Russia’s military and diplomatic activity in Africa, and he wouldn’t even call it cooperation, but support for absolutely failed, illegitimate regimes and juntas,” the minister noted.
“Well, in general, if you look at the list of countries that we visited in Africa, if he reacted to this, then it was quite insulting for African states that continue, in spite of everything, to consistently develop relations with the Russian Federation” , Lavrov stressed.
Earlier, Macron had expressed concern over Russia's increasing diplomatic and military contacts in Africa and resented the spread of allegedly false information and "Russia-friendly narratives" in Africa by people he refused to call journalists, while also mentioning the opening of new offices of the Sputnik Russian news agency and the RT television channel in Africa. The French president also made allegations that Russia was supplementing diplomatic contacts with the intervention of private military companies.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS