In any case, France intends to open the way for dialogue with Russia, and to maintain relations between the two countries, Gabriel Attal, France's Secretary of State and Government's spokesperson stated on France Info radio station on Friday.
“Russia is our neighbor, and it will remain so. Relations with Russia will be maintained in any case,” he said.
He noted that French President Emmanuel Macron regularly had telephone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, “including at the request of Ukrainian President Zelensky.”
“Zelensky regularly asks Macron to call Putin, to act as a mediator, and to maintain contact between the two leaders,” Attal said.
According to the representative of the French Government, the contacts between Putin and Macron “allow to make some progress in a number of issues.” He cited the example of the negotiations on the security of Ukraine's nuclear power plants and the involvement of the IAEA in that process.
French Secretary of State Attal also said that the French Government had not put pressure on Renault, and that the carmaker had made its own decision to close its factory in Moscow.
