During an interview with BFMTV, Alexandre Makogonov underlines however that Russian resentment against France and its political line vis-à-vis the Ukrainian conflict is currently strong.
“France should not exist.” During his very warmongering program broadcast on the public channel Rossiya-1 earlier this week, the Kremlin’s chief propagandist, Vladimir Soloviev, proposed “preventive strikes” against France after the decision of Paris to supply armor to kyiv.
A supposition which found echo on the plate of the program since Andrey Gurulyov, a former general of the Russian army in the retirement now deputy of the Duma, for his part suggested a more radical answer. “France existed, and now it no longer exists, would that bother anyone? If we hit France once, it will be the end of it all,” he threatened.
“Emotional” comments
Invited this Wednesday evening on the antenna of BFMTV, Alexander Makogonov, spokesperson for the Russian embassy in France, was inevitably questioned on the subject. “Here, in front of you, on this set, I can reassure you and your spectators. Have no fear,” he said.
“It is a television show, like on French television, where experts are free to express themselves on subjects that worry them, that affect them”, assures the spokesperson.
According to him, these remarks are “emotional” and a response to “the French decision about the tanks.” and, more generally, to “the French line.” Alexandre Makogonov also recalled that on several occasions, on French television sets, several experts made comments which, in the same way, shocked Russia.
“I also remember the first antennas of French television, at the beginning of this conflict, when on the sets, openly, in front of the public, your experts were talking about the best way to assassinate Putin. It is normal in your opinion ?” he counterattacks.
Russian resentment
More generally, Alexandre Makogonov returned to the resentment towards France which is currently agitating Russian society. “We cannot consider France as a friendly country” he said, before qualifying: “I cannot call enemy France, it is impossible, but our resentment is very deep, we are disappointed by the political line the French.”
For him, the damage is particularly deep in the Russian collective imagination, while France, “which we have always considered a friendly country”, now provides “tanks and guns to kill the Russians”.
