MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Valentina Matvienko, the speaker of Russia's upper house, and French Senate President Gerard Larcher agreed to intensify joint efforts to restore “traditionally friendly" relations between the two countries during a telephone conversation, the Russian Federation Council said in statement on Friday.
Matvienko and Larcher also discussed parliamentary involvement in the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, noting that February's Minsk peace agreements are the only basis for the resolution of the crisis in the region.
Relations between Moscow and European member states deteriorated significantly due to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which the West blames Moscow for fueling, introducing several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions in response. Moscow has firmly denied the allegations.
