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What did France say about a Russian spy case?
Summary
A look back at two regional allegations involving Russia, reported on 29 and 30 August 2020.
What did French officials reveal about a suspected Russian intelligence operation on 30 August 2020? That day, French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly disclosed that an army lieutenant-colonel stationed at a NATO base in Italy had been arrested and indicted on charges of espionage on behalf of another government.
The officer was reported to have supplied "sensitive" documents to an officer of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency. The case placed French–Russian relations in the spotlight.
Accusation from Baku
A day earlier, on 29 August 2020, a senior advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Russia of arming Armenia since the start of the recent border clashes. The claim was an allegation made by the advisor, and it added to the strain in Azerbaijani–Russian relations.
Together, the two reports showed Russia facing separate accusations from a NATO member state and from a South Caucasus neighbour in the space of two days.
