Relations between Russia and France are at their worst - a deep crisis, it is difficult to compare even with the period of the Cold War, Artem Studennikov, director of the first European department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
„I would like to draw attention to the fact that Russian-French relations are already in a deep crisis, which is difficult to compare even with the period of the Cold War in all the main mechanisms of interstate interaction - and not only in the political and in the economic sphere, but also in the field of culture and education, sport is blocked on the initiative of the French side”, the diplomat said.
As Studennikov noted, this was not Moscow's choice, but the result of a “deliberate policy of containment and pressure on Russia conducted by the West for many years, which eventually transformed into a full-scale hybrid war” against Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with The Economist in early May that he does not rule out sending troops to Ukraine if Russia breaks through the front line and there is such a request coming from Kiev. According to him, “many EU countries” have agreed with this approach of France.
The Kremlin called what was happening an unprecedented escalation of tension that required special attention and measures. According to the press secretary of the president, Dmitry Peskov, the Europeans see that the situation is changing rapidly and is full of complete collapse for Ukraine, so they are deliberately escalating the situation.
Against these statements, the Russian General Staff, on the orders of Vladimir Putin, began exercises with missile formations of the Southern Military District. These maneuvers are expected to test the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons.