French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry after detention of a Russian diplomat at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Zakharova said the incident took place on April 6, when French border officials detained a Russian diplomat without explanation, confiscating her computer and phone.
The Russian Embassy in Paris issued a protest note to the French Foreign Ministry, and in Moscow the Foreign Ministry protested with the French mission, she said.
As a result of this demarche, our colleague was eventually permitted to enter the country. However, she was forced to spend an entire day confined to the airport’s border area,” Zakharova said.
The spokeswoman said the diplomat had all the necessary documentation in order, including a valid visa issued by the French authorities specifically for this business trip.
“What makes the situation particularly cynical is that the French side approved and issued the visa, but then proceeded to stage this entire shameful spectacle,” she added.
The spokeswoman also said that a Russian consulate employee dispatched to the airport was denied access to the detained diplomat for nearly seven hours.
She warned the incident would not go unanswered and will have consequences.