France: Macron has “no doubt” that Russia will try to undermine the Olympic Games

MADRID, 4 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, stated this Thursday, without “any doubt”, that Russia will try to interfere in some way in the celebration of the Paris Olympic Games, anticipating, for example, disinformation activities promoted from Moscow.

“The manipulation of information is part of the war arsenal that Russia currently uses,” said Macron, who has taken advantage of the inauguration of the main aquatic center to appeal to unity and “trust” as a counterweight to any type of external threat.

The president spoke in these terms in statements to the media a day after the French Defense Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, and the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, spoke by phone to discuss, among other issues, the recent jihadist attack on a auditorium on the outskirts of Moscow.

Lecornu urged his counterpart to stop “instrumentalizing” this attack for political purposes, but in its version of the call, the Russian Defense Ministry insisted on the thesis of Ukrainian responsibility. “We hope that the special services are not behind it,” he declared.

Macron has called these types of accusations “ridiculous,” accusing Russia of engaging in “manipulation” and “threats.” According to the president, one of the tasks of Tuesday’s call was precisely to transmit to the Russian Government “useful information” about the attack, claimed by the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State.

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