Telephone conversation between Jean-Noël Barrot and his Israeli counterpart (December 2, 2024)

On December 2, 2024, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot spoke over the phone with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar.

The Minister insisted on the need for all parties to respect the ceasefire in Lebanon and highlighted the efforts that France has undertaken to this end, together with our American partners.

The Minister stressed that the ceasefire in Lebanon must pave the way for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all of the hostages, and a massive influx of humanitarian aid. He noted that France would shoulder its full responsibility by making new humanitarian commitments on the occasion of the Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza, which also took place today.

The two Ministers discussed the situation in Syria and the Iranian nuclear program.

They agreed to keep in close contact regarding all of these issues

France denounces the new prison sentence for Aleksei Gorinov, opponent of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine (December 2, 2024)

France vigorously denounces the verdict handed down by a Russian court against Aleksei Gorinov, the former Russian municipal deputy and opponent of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, sentencing him to an additional three years of prison under a strict detention regime.

In 2022, Aleksei Gorinov received a seven-year prison sentence for opposing Russian’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which was decided down under a repressive law that was passed shortly after the Russian invasion in order to silence any opposition to the war.

“Justifying terrorism,” the reason given by the court on November 29, shows once again that the Russian judiciary is being manipulated for repressive purposes. This new sentence, which constitutes harassment, is all the more concerning given that Aleksei Gorinov’s frail health has deteriorated significantly since his imprisonment in 2022.

France calls on the Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all of the prisoners who were convicted on political grounds.