French Foreign Ministry: We don’t consider Russia a “bad guy.”
France does not participate in sanctions against Russia - restrictions are imposed only on certain individuals.
Henri Verdier, Ambassador of the French Foreign Ministry for Digital Affairs, said this in an interview with Kommersant, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The publication drew attention to the fact that Western countries consider Russia to be perhaps the main online hooligan, the “bad guy” (“bad guy on the internet”), and asked what France’s position is on this matter.
“This is a very specific question. But we don't consider Russia a "bad guy." Yes, there is a certain level of, I would not say, aggressiveness... however, when we need to say something, we tell them about it. We participated in sanctions, not against Russia, but against a number of individuals,” Verdier said.
He agreed that a certain level of tension exists.
“Many people call it propaganda or communication, but we call it interference or aggressiveness. But it's not that important. When certain lines are crossed, we participate in sanctions or point out violators, but the main issue, frankly speaking, and the issue that concerns everyone: is cybercrime. There are cybercriminals on Russian territory, and there are also Russian-speaking cyberfraudsters, for example, in countries neighboring Russia. And ultimately I think we will resolve this, but we need to cooperate and we will fight,” said the French Foreign Ministry representative.
According to him, the damage from cyber crime in the world is constantly growing.
“We don't blame the Russian authorities, but the reality is that there is a high level of cybercrime that comes from Russia, although, of course, not only from Russia. Cyber fraudsters can be anywhere. This is another reason why we need to confront them together,” Verdier concluded.
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