PARIS, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Moscow’s announcement of a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas is a “crass attempt” by Russia to hide its responsibility for the suffering of the civilian population and “additional proof” of its “cynicism”, the French Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
This truce announced Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin was supposed to come into force this Friday at 09:00 GMT but doubts persist on a real lull in the fighting.
“The unilateral announcement by the Kremlin of a ceasefire on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas cannot deceive anyone”, reacted France via the spokeswoman for the Quai d’Orsay, according to which a “just peace and lasting cannot happen without a total withdrawal of Russian troops from all Ukrainian territory”.
“This announcement constitutes a crass attempt by Russia to hide its responsibility, while it continues to multiply the exactions and to relentlessly bombard the whole of the Ukrainian territory, by targeting in particular, in the middle of winter, the critical installations and the civilian populations”, continued the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“This is further proof of the cynicism of Russia, which has consistently shown since February 24 that it does not want peace and that it pays little attention to the respect of its international obligations.” (Written by Bertrand Boucey, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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