Russia announced Thursday, December 25, that it had made a “proposal” to France concerning the case of French researcher Laurent Vinatier, imprisoned in Russia since June 2024 and who could be tried for “espionage”.
Russia has arrested several Western nationals on various grounds since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022 and has carried out prisoner exchanges with the United States. This surprise announcement comes as Paris and Moscow, whose relations are at their lowest, recently publicly expressed interest in direct contact between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron.
“There have been appropriate contacts between our side and the French. Indeed, a proposal was made to the French regarding Vinatier,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during his daily press briefing attended by AFP. “The ball is in France’s court now,” he added, affirming that he “cannot provide details” because “it is a very sensitive area.” Contacted by AFP, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.
Sentenced to three years in prison
Questioned by a French journalist on this subject last Friday during his annual press conference, President Vladimir Putin claimed to “know nothing” about the Laurent Vinatier affair and was hearing about it for the first time. “I promise you that I will find out. And if there is the slightest chance of resolving this question in a positive way, if Russian law allows it, we will do everything possible,” he then assured.
Laurent Vinatier was sentenced in October 2024 by a Russian court to three years in prison for not having registered as a “foreign agent”, while he was collecting “military information” that could be “used against the security” of Russia. The person concerned admitted the facts, but pleaded ignorance. In August, he appeared in a Russian court on charges of “espionage” which, if confirmed, could significantly increase his sentence.
The investigation has been extended and he could face a new trial for espionage at the end of February 2026, according to his French lawyer. Laurent Vinatier declared in August that he did not expect “anything good, nothing positive” after learning of these new accusations. His parents assured AFP that their son was a “political prisoner”, a “pawn” used by the Russians to “apply pressure”. This 49-year-old researcher, specialist in the post-Soviet space, was employed by the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Swiss NGO which mediates in conflicts outside official diplomatic circuits, particularly with regard to Ukraine.
Paris demanded from Moscow the release of its national, accusing Russia of seeking to take Westerners hostage, while relations between the two countries are going through a period of tension. Around fifty personalities, including writers Emmanuel Carrère and Annie Ernaux, asked France to work for his release in a column published by the newspaper The Worldbelieving that he is “prisoner of a political and diplomatic game which exceeds him”.
Relations between Paris and Moscow have been frosty in recent years, with France accusing Russia of acts of destabilization and disinformation on its territory, while Paris is criticized by Moscow for its military support for Ukraine and even for censoring Russian media.
At the end of November, three people were also indicted and imprisoned in Paris as part of a double case of interference and economic espionage for the benefit of Moscow. Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron, however, judged that it would “become useful again” for Europeans to talk to Vladimir Putin, rather than leaving the United States – which is the main mediator in the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict – alone to maneuver in the negotiations. Dmitri Peskov reacted immediately by saying that Vladimir Putin was “ready for dialogue” with his French counterpart.
