France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot stated on Friday that Russia doesn’t defend worldwide legislation both in Ukraine or Iran with its actions, in response to feedback made by his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in an interview on French TV.
“Mr. Lavrov was able to calmly spread his propaganda last night on a French television channel … You do not defend international law by launching a war of aggression,” Barrot instructed reporters on the sidelines of a G7 assembly in France.
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Speaking to France Television on Thursday, Lavrov stated that by standing with Iran in its conflict towards the US and Israel, Russia’s focus was on upholding worldwide legislation. He added that the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that sparked the Middle East conflict had breached these guidelines.
But he rejected any notion of Russia breaking worldwide legislation in Ukraine, claiming its forces by no means focused “exclusively civilian” targets.
After the interview, Ukraine’s ambassador to France Vadym Omelchenko stated on X individuals have to be questioning why French tv had given a platform to “a war criminal”.
Russia specialist Dimitri Minic described the interview as “catastrophic”.
“In case France TV teams still underestimate information warfare, they should understand that Moscow has made it the central weapon of its war against the West,” he wrote on X.
Researcher Etienne Marcuz described it as a “disgraceful interview during which a minister from an opposing power can calmly reel off his talking points at prime time on France’s main public channel, and almost without any pushback” from the tv presenter.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260327-france-rebukes-lavrov-says-russia-does-not-defend-international-law