The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the response of Paris to the request about neo-Nazis in Kiev
The French authorities should "believe their own eyes" when assessing the situation in Ukraine. So the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commented on the statements of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yva Le Drian that the popularity and influence of neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine "is not more than in other European countries."
In Moscow, they asked to clarify "where in Europe there are still neo-Nazi battalions."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova urged the French authorities to "believe their own eyes" and their senators when assessing the situation in Ukraine. According to her, with the connivance of the West, "old Nazi ideas blossomed" there. She gave such an assessment on Saturday, July 31, in her Telegram channel.
Zakharova commented on the response of the French Foreign Ministry to the request of Senator Nathalie Goulet, sent by her after visiting Kiev. The latter previously said that the activity of neo-Nazi forces in Ukraine "cannot but cause concern."
What the French senator told
Goulet, who holds the post of deputy chairman of the commission on the constitution and legislation of the French Senate, told TASS that during a visit to the capital of Ukraine, she and other parliamentarians witnessed how in Kiev they openly sell Nazi symbols, record volunteers in the Ukrainian neo-Nazi paramilitary formation - the Azov regiment.
This activity serves to disseminate the theses against which it strongly opposes.
According to her, we are talking about racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories.
What the French Foreign Minister replied
In his response to the request of the parliamentarian, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian pointed out that neo-Nazis are indeed present in Ukraine, but they are "ininfluential".
"Although there are neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine, their popularity and influence are no greater than in other European countries.
They have no representation in the Rada and no weight in the government of Ukraine.
In the spring of 2019, Ukrainians brought Volodymyr Zelensky to power, gaining more than 73% of the vote, which indicates the strength of democratic sentiment in the country.
Thus, the activities of neo-Nazi organizations in no way reflect the general trend in the country, "the Ukrainian edition of Strana quotes him as saying.
The diplomat added that the conflict in eastern Ukraine did lead to the mobilization of "some small militant extremist groups, but since then most of them have disappeared."
"Nevertheless, France continues to be extremely vigilant in this matter," Le Drian assured.
What the Russian Foreign Ministry said
Commenting on the position of the Minister of foreign Affairs of France, Zakharova called absurd his thesis that the democratic coming to power of President Vladimir Zelensky proves the absence of neo-Nazism in Ukraine.
"This part of the answer is not only shocking, but also laughing. I would like to remind French connoisseurs of history that in one of the European countries in the 30s of the XX century, one person came to power in the most democratic way.
The one that then conquered half of France - this is something in Paris should be remembered, "Zakharova wrote.
In addition, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that Paris recognized the existence of neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine, however, according to the French diplomatic department, their popularity "does not exceed the average in Europe."
Zakharova addressed the question to the French Foreign Ministry, asking to clarify "where in Europe there are still neo-Nazi battalions."
