France Criticizes Russia-Belarus Military Drills as "Violent Gesture"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, criticized the large-scale joint military exercises between Russia and Belarus on the 10th (local time) as "a very violent gesture that worries us."

In an interview with France Inter radio on the same day, Minister Le Drian said the current situation surrounding Ukraine should not be underestimated, describing it as "very serious and very concerning."

On the day, Russia began joint military exercises in Belarus, which borders Ukraine, mobilizing about 30,000 Russian troops and most of the Belarusian forces.

Minister Le Drian also referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin's promise to withdraw troops after the exercises end in ten days as "a very important test," warning, "We will watch to see what happens and whether tensions will ease."

He explained that French President Emmanuel Macron's recent visits to Moscow, Russia; Kyiv, Ukraine; and Berlin, Germany were necessary measures.

President Macron visited Moscow on the 7th and Kyiv on the 8th, meeting consecutively with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to seek mediation.

On his way back to France, President Macron discussed response measures with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whom he met in Berlin, and Polish President Andrzej Duda, who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).

Minister Le Drian interpreted Russia's willingness to continue dialogue positively, noting that senior officials from Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany will meet again in Berlin on the same day. Foreign policy officials from the four countries held a Normandy format quadrilateral meeting in Paris last month on the 26th.

The Normandy format talks refer to meetings among four countries addressing conflict resolution in the Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk) of Ukraine, which borders Russia.

Although the four leaders signed the 'Minsk Agreement' in 2015, which included a plan for peace settlement in the Donbas region, clashes between Ukrainian government forces and rebels have yet to cease.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.