Travels of French MPs to Crimea and Donbas do not call into question France's position on supporting Ukraine's integrity, French ambassador to Ukraine Isabelle Dumont has said.

"Regarding the visits of certain French parliamentarians to Donbas and Crimea, I would like to recall that we are talking about private initiatives that we can not prevent, within the framework of the rule of law, although we tried, as far as possible, to dissuade them from realizing this intention," Dumont said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

"In the framework of such trips, the deputies do not use state funds, and their actions do not impose any obligations on the official authorities. Such initiatives, regrettable, do not call into question the position of France, which confirms firm and unchanged support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the diplomat said.

She said that the creation of the so-called representation office of the DPR in Marseille is also a private initiative. "On June 9, 2017, an organization called the Center for the Official Representation of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in France was registered in the prefecture of Aix-en-Provence in France. But we must clarify that this is a private initiative of a local nature. We certainly do not have bilateral contacts with the actual leadership of this territory and we remain committed to the sovereignty of Ukraine within the recognized borders," the ambassador said.

"The above mentioned organization is by no means a representation of the DPR for the French state. And the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs called upon the relevant authorities to study the case of this newly formed organization," Dumont said.