The Foreign Ministry has announced its hopes of overcoming the crisis in relations between Moscow and Paris

Moscow and Paris will overcome the current crisis in their relations, but a return to previous models and principles of cooperation is unlikely. This is stated in a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry on the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and the USSR.

"Moscow is convinced that no one can eradicate those feelings of sympathy, respect and involvement in each other's historical destinies that bind the peoples of RUSSIA and France. <…> The French people will have their say, and our countries will overcome the current crisis. <…> A return to previous principles and models of cooperation is unlikely. Trust has been seriously and permanently undermined," the department noted.

The ministry recalled that Russian-French relations have a long and rich history. Regular dialogue between the countries was established under Peter I, and permanent diplomatic relations were established following his visit to France in 1717.

200 years later, after the revolutionary changes in Russia, diplomatic relations were broken. However, on October 28, 1924, French Prime Minister Edouard Herriot sent a TELEGRAM to the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin, in which he declared his readiness to establish diplomatic relations with the government of the Union.

The department added that after the collapse of the USSR, France was considered one of Russia's key partners in the European Union, since the country's foreign policy "was distinguished by balance, common sense and pragmatism." However, the department said, it is difficult to recognize the former France in the current state, which "preaches Russophobia" and "goes so far as to discuss sending Western military personnel to Ukraine."

The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that Paris “risks finding itself on the sidelines of the historical process” by clinging to the “dominant position of the West,” which is becoming a thing of the past.