French Senate Calls to Lift Anti-Russia Sanctions to Boost Bilateral Ties

The French Senate decision to pass a resolution calling on the French government to lift its anti-Russian sanctions will positively impact Russian-French relations, French Senate President Gerard Larcher said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Larcher had a phone conversation with Russian upper house speaker Valentina Matvienko earlier on Thursday, discussing inter-parliamentary cooperation between Russia and France.

"Gerard Larcher stressed that the unanimous decision by the Senate of France to pass the given resolution regarding the sanctions against Russia will, undoubtedly, have a positive impact on Russian-French cooperation," the Russian Federation Council said in a statement.

In turn, Matvienko stressed the importance of the two countries' parliamentarians in restoring bilateral ties, stressing that France is Russia's leading partner in Europe.

Russian-French cultural and humanitarian ties have not been significantly impacted by the strained political situation in Europe, she added.

On Wednesday, the French Senate passed by overwhelming majority a resolution calling on the government to ease sanctions against Russia. The National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, adopted a similar resolution in April.

On June 28-29, the EU leaders are due to decide on further prolongation of sanctions at a summit in Brussels.