« We decided to organize this meeting because we thought that you might want an alternative point of view. Since the closure of RT and Sputnik, your readers unfortunately no longer have access to this alternative vision. It is with these words that Alexei Mechkov, Russian Ambassador to France, started a press conference organized at his residence in Paris on Tuesday, March 15, which France Soir was able to attend.
The slogan that we guess in the background: explain the causes of the Ukrainian conflict from the Russian point of view, but also undo the “fake news” conveyed by the West, a term used several times by the diplomat. In this sense, he wished to return to the geopolitical context established in 2014 since the events of Maidan, a coup that led to the overthrow of then President Viktor Yanukovych and to bloody conflicts over the weeks and months following. According to him, the Minsk agreements concluded in 2015, supposed to lead to a resolution of the conflict, have not been respected by the Ukrainian side.
These agreements had several components. These included putting an end to hostilities in the region, securing the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the conflict zone, granting a special status of semi-autonomy to the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk – which the diplomat pointed out to be ” comparable or even lower than the status of Corsica – and to ensure the right of the population to use the language of their choice. For the inhabitants of these regions, mostly Russian-speaking, this last point was most important. On the other hand, six years after the signing of the agreements, these objectives have not been achieved, according to Mr. Meshkov, who is surprised, moreover, to see Western public opinion worrying about the situation in the Donbass only. now. Moreover, if in words France and Germany, present at the negotiating table in 2015, defend the Minsk agreements, the diplomat made it clear during his speech that in deeds, these two countries were encouraging their dismantling.
To justify the Russian offensive in Ukraine, the ambassador put forward a Ukrainian plan for a military operation in the Republics of Donbass which was, according to information from the Kremlin, planned for this month of March. A military operation that he compares to Operation Storm carried out in August 1995 by Croatia against the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina. According to him, kyiv’s intention was confirmed by documents acquired by Russia during what the diplomat described as ” special military operation “. Accordingly, he adds: Russia’s action prevented this military occupation. »
On the other hand, the diplomat mentioned the objectives pursued by Russia in Ukraine. First, its demilitarization and obtaining a neutral status for the country. In recent years, as a result of NATO arms deliveries and joint exercises with Ukrainian forces, ” Ukraine has been turned into an anti-Russian stronghold “, He believes, constituting, in fact, a real threat to the security of Russia at its borders.
The second objective targeted by the Kremlin: the denazification of Ukraine, which would go through the prohibition of any neo-Nazi organization on Ukrainian territory and the abolition of all anti-Russian laws adopted in recent years. In the viewfinder, in particular: the prohibition of the use of the Russian language.
Finally, the third objective: recognition by the Ukrainian government of Crimea and the Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Questions asked by France Soir
We asked the ambassador about Russia’s perception of the European Union’s decision, adopted at the Versailles summit on March 10, to double its aid to supply arms to Ukraine and what the Kremlin plans to do in response.
Alexei Meshkov considered this decision harmful and counter-productive, pointing out that this budget would have been better invested in the cause of Ukrainian refugees. He noted that the increase in weapons will cause more casualties, specifying, moreover, that these will be destroyed by the targeted strikes of the Russian armed forces or recovered and then transmitted to the people’s militias of Donetsk and Luhansk, as would have already been the case in the past.
We also asked Alexei Meshkov if Russia, by bombing the military center located in Yavoriv which had served as a training camp for Ukrainian forces supervised by foreign instructors, had sent a message about its determination to prevent by any means the Ukraine to enter the fold of NATO, even if it means engaging in a nuclear war.
To this, he recalled that Russia is categorically opposed to Ukraine’s membership of NATO, a requirement reflected in this military operation which aims for the neutrality of Ukrainian territory. He adds : ” If Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, it will mean a war between Russia and NATO. Is NATO ready to wage such a war? »
Returning to the military center of Yavoriv, the diplomat underlined that there were, in addition to foreign instructors, also ” mercenaries » foreigners, for whom military standards do not apply. These are therefore either eliminated or judgeds”. If Alexei Meshkov did not directly respond to the possibility of a nuclear war, he recognizes that Russia did, in fact, wish to send a message ” to all those who would like to participate in this anti-Russian safari in Ukraine. »
The press conference in full, with questions from the press: