War in Ukraine: Kremlin accuses France of being the obstacle to peace

Russian diplomacy chief Sergei Lavrov strongly criticized French President Emmanuel Macron at a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart in Yerevan, in a context of growing regional and international tensions.

According to information from TF1-LCI, the Russian Minister accused the French leader of feeding a “manifest hatred” towards Russia. “President Macron himself as well as all his ministers simply overflowing hatred towards Russia, calling it as the only problem preventing the Ukrainian regulations,” said Lavrov before the press.

He also denounced what he describes as duplicity of Westerners in the management of the Ukrainian conflict. “And by regulation, they only hear one thing: an unconditional ceasefire for a month, or even more, so that they can quietly arm Ukraine and that it can strengthen its defensive positions. He said.

These statements come as soon as relations between Moscow and Paris have not stopped deteriorating since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Emmanuel Macron, who had initially positioned himself as one of the rare European interlocutors open to dialogue with Vladimir Putin, hardened his speech in recent months, qualifying Russia as a “destabilizing actor” and calling for ” firmness and clarity strategy ”.

On May 14, 2025, during a speech in the European Parliament, the French president said that “Europe’s security went through a lasting weakening of the nuisance capacity of Russia”, while pleading for reinforced support for Ukraine, including in matters of armaments. This statement had already caused a scathing reaction to the Kremlin, qualifying Macron’s words “dangerous and bellicists”.

Regional context: a sensitive diplomatic tour for Lavrov

The visit of Sergei Lavrov in Armenia is part of a series of trips aimed at consolidating the Russian alliances in the Caucasus, while the Kremlin sees its influence called into question by the erosion of the post-Soviet order. Erevan, a long traditional ally of Moscow, recently expressed signs of rapprochement with the European Union, especially after tensions with Azerbaijan on Haut-Karabakh.

An increasingly polarized international climate
The rhetorical confrontation between Moscow and Western capitals is part of a context of prolonged war in Ukraine, diplomatic ruptures and massive rearmament on both sides.

The European Union validated in March 2025 a 15th package of sanctions against Russia, targeting the technological and energy sector, while the United States has confirmed additional military aid of $ 8 billion in Kyiv this year.