On Wednesday, Russia said it was waiting for “explanations” from France after a Russian government employee was detained for hours at a Paris airport in what it described as a “shameful spectacle.”
The employee, who was not named, worked for the Russian foreign ministry and had landed in France on Sunday as part of an official delegation, Moscow stated.
According to Russia, French border police confiscated her phone and computer upon arrival and held her at border control for several hours despite her possessing a valid French visa.
Relations between Russia and France have deteriorated sharply in recent months, with Moscow increasingly directing its criticism at Europe and particularly French President Emmanuel Macron for their support of Ukraine.
“What happened on April 6 at Charles de Gaulle airport has no explanation,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at her weekly press briefing.
“The Russian Embassy immediately dispatched a consular officer to the airport. Our diplomat waited nearly seven hours to get access to their colleague, who came to France with an official delegation,” she said.
“We do not intend to leave this without consequences,” Zakharova added.
There was no immediate reaction from Paris.
“We have demanded explanations from the French side. Frankly, it is difficult to imagine how they plan to justify this,” Zakharova said.
The Kremlin labelled the incident “totally unacceptable” and warned that it would “further aggravate” already tense ties between Moscow and Paris.
Russia confirmed it had submitted a formal note of protest to the French foreign ministry and summoned the French ambassador in Moscow to express its discontent.
Since the start of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine more than three years ago, both countries have expelled dozens of each other’s diplomats, deepening the diplomatic rift.
Russia has recently redirected much of its anger over the Ukraine conflict toward Europe while taking a less hostile tone toward the United States, which is now seeking warmer relations with Russia.
France has been a firm supporter of Ukraine and even proposed sending peacekeepers to the country as part of a future settlement plan, a move Russia warned would be seen as an act of war.
On Monday, Macron accused Russia of “stalling tactics” after it rejected a US-Ukrainian ceasefire plan and instead laid out its own conditions for a Black Sea truce.
Meanwhile, Russia is holding French researcher Laurent Vinatier, who works with a Swiss conflict mediation NGO, on charges that Paris has described as “arbitrary.”
