France has violated the Vienna Convention - Lavrov
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Russia’s Foreign Minister says that France has violated “all commitments of the Vienna Convention (on Diplomatic Relations)” following the detention of Russian football fans in Marseille.
Speaking at the Russian State Duma, Sergey Lavrov added that he had sent a “verbal message” to Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French foreign minister.
In it, Lavrov has urged “not to let the same violations happen again.”
“French authorities were obliged to inform our embassy or the consulate general in Marseille at that very moment when they carried out the detention (of the Russian fans), but this was not done.”
“It is a fact that the French acted in violation against all commitments of the Vienna Convention (on Diplomatic Relations) and I have already sent a verbal message to the foreign minister of France demanding not to let similar violations happen again.”
In southern France, French police stopped a bus carrying 29 Russian fans was stopped near the city of Nice on Tuesday, amid concerns over further football violence.
It follows violent clashes between Russia and England fans in Marseille ahead of their team’s European Championship opener.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday night.