Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has criticized France for publishing a phone call between the presidents of the two nations that took place days before the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict.

The specifics of the private conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron on February 20 were made public in a documentary that France 2 aired last week.

In the conversation, which takes place while Putin is getting ready for an ice hockey match, the Russian president refers to the Euro-Maidan revolution of 2014 that installed pro-Western politicians in Ukraine as a “bloody coup.” Additionally, he charges Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with refusing to hold talks with separatists who support Russia in the country’s east.

Putin asserts that Zelenskyy is deceiving Macron, saying “People were burned alive, it was a bloodbath.”

At one occasion, apparently agitated, Macron rebukes Putin’s opinions by saying, “I don’t know where your lawyer learned law,” in a slightly louder voice.

Despite their differences, Putin in principle agrees to a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Geneva. However, the meeting was never held because four days later, Russia ordered soldiers into Ukraine.

Lavrov remarked on Wednesday that “diplomatic etiquette does not provide for unilateral leaks of [such] recordings” in response to the release of the conversation.

However, he went on to say that based on the conversation’s content, Russia has nothing to be ashamed of.

“We, in principle, lead negotiations in such a way that we never have anything to be ashamed of. We always say what we think and are ready to answer for these words and explain our position,” he said during a trip to Vietnam.

The video also includes private moments between Macron and his entourage, including a meeting in the bunker beneath the Elysee Palace and work in the presidential jet.

It also shows how European leaders worked together to help Ukraine and put unprecedented sanctions on Russia. It shows Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on a train on their way to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in June, where they promised arms and backed Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union.

Image Credit: Getty

You were reading: Russia didn’t like France made Putin-Macron confidential call public