EU will act strongly if Russia attacks Ukraine, says French Foreign Minister

But we also want dialogue be pursued, says Le Drian

Russia needs to know that the European Union will act strongly if it attacks Ukraine, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday at an online event organised by the Observer Research Organisation. Speaking at the same event about the Indo-Pacific region, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said France had been a partner of India for decades and pointed out that France was a nation from the Indo-Pacific region because of its territorial possessions in the oceans that define this area.

“The Ukrainian question will not penalise this political will, that I have just asserted. Although today this question is dominating the news. We are of course preoccupied by the tensions that exist at the frontier of Ukraine because of the significant deployment of Russian forces at Donbas as well as Belarus. Russians need to know — if there was any attack on the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine, we have to act strongly. But we also want that dialogue be pursued,” said Mr. Le Drian, emphasising the current presidency of his country in the European Union.