This was discussed at a meeting between Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar and Ambassador of the French Republic to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins, the Foreign Ministry's press service reports.

The First Deputy Minister drew the Ambassador's attention to the inadmissibility of contacts of French citizens with representatives of the occupation administration of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

For his part, French Ambassador Etienne de Poncins reaffirmed the unwavering position of official Paris on supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including within the framework of the United Nations and other international organizations. He assured that he would forward to the French Foreign Ministry an appeal from Emine Dzheppar regarding the visit of French MEPs to Crimea.

It is noted that Dzheppar also stressed the illegality of the Russian occupation administration's "vote" to amend the constitution of the Russian Federation in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine in Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as any other "referendums" and "voting" in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

In addition, both sides stressed the importance of further cooperation in order to effectively counter Russia's attempts to spread misinformation of anti-Ukrainian content that threatens Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

They also discussed the strengthening of international efforts to deoccupy Crimea and human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and to strengthen security in the Black and Azov Seas.

What is known

• A delegation of French MEPs plans to visit occupied Yalta and Simferopol from June 30 to July 2 to check the illegal voting on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
• The delegation is headed by Thierry Mariani, Member of the European Parliament, Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, President of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association.
• In Ukraine, the prosecutor's office opened a criminal case under Art. 332-1 for violating the order of entry into occupied Crimea by Thierry Mariani and other French parliamentarians in 2016.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine notes that the trips of foreign politicians to occupied Crimea do not have the status of official ones.