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Eastern Europe
Visit to Russia - Interview given by Michèle Alliot-Marie, Minister of Defense to the Russian newspaper “Izvestia” (excerpts)
Moscow, January 20, 2005
(...) FRANCE/RUSSIA/IRAQ/MIDDLE EAST/KOSOVO Q. – Russia, France and Germany strongly criticized the actions of the United States in Iraq, which has allowed political commentators to talk about the “Paris-Berlin-Moscow axis”. Was it a tactical alliance or in fact the formation of a “tripartite union”?
THE MINISTER – The resolution of conflicts in the world must be based on international legality and legitimacy, and take place within a multilateral framework. During the Iraq crisis, France, Germany and Russia worked in close coordination on the basis of these principles. Going beyond our joint approach to dealing with the Iraq conflict, Russia and France see eye to eye on other international issues, like, for example, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is also the case for the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the need to address Kosovo’s future status in the interest of its inhabitants. FRANCO-RUSSIAN DEFENCE COOPERATION Q. – The Russian and French armed forces are cooperating closely (port visits of nuclear submarines, joint military exercises, etc.), which differentiates France from the other European countries. How do you explain this?
THE MINISTER – France and Russia are in regular contact at both defence-minister and chief-of-defence-staff level. Following the joint exercises in which our submarines took part in the Barents Sea in summer 2003, another one took place in the Atlantic in 2004 in which the Russian “Vepr” nuclear submarine and a surface vessel participated. All in all, we conducted no fewer than 24 joint exercises in 2004. (...)./.
Embassy of France in the United States - January 26, 2005
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