By : JD
Jordan Daily – Russia has filed a formal diplomatic protest and summoned the French ambassador after a member of its official delegation to a UNESCO event was detained at a Paris airport, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Zakharova described the incident as a “shameful spectacle” and said the female diplomat was detained without explanation upon arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport. “Her phone and computer were confiscated, and no explanation was given for her detention,” Zakharova told reporters.
She said the Russian Embassy in Paris dispatched a consular officer to the airport and lodged an official protest with the French Foreign Ministry. “As a result of our demarches, our colleague was ultimately permitted entry into the country. However, she was forced to spend an entire day in the airport’s border zone,” she said.
Zakharova warned that the incident would have repercussions. “Paris will face consequences, and they will go well beyond formal protests,” she added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also condemned the detention, calling it “unacceptable” and a breach of the Vienna Convention, which governs diplomatic relations. “This further damages already strained relations,” he said.
French government spokeswoman Sophie Primas said she was unaware of the incident but acknowledged that “Russia and France do not currently enjoy friendly relations.”
