The head of Russian diplomacy was offended Wednesday by the publication by the France 2 television channel of an interview between the French and Russian presidents, four days before Moscow launched its assault on Ukraine.

“Diplomatic etiquette does not provide for unilateral leaks of (such) recordings,” Minister Sergei Lavrov noted during a trip to Vietnam.

The very tense nine-minute telephone conversation between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin was broadcast in a documentary by the French channel France 2 which traces the mediation of the French president in an attempt to prevent the conflict in Ukraine from escalating, with Moscow being accused. to prepare an offensive despite his repeated denials.

Mr. Lavrov judged that Russia did not have to be ashamed of the content of the conversation between the two leaders.

“We always conduct the negotiations in such a way that we never have to be ashamed. We always say what we think, we are ready to answer for our words and explain our position,” he said.