Meridians of cooperation

Visit of delegation of French Embassy in Russia

On 13 May 2025, a delegation of the French Embassy in the Russian Federation, headed by Minister-Counsellor Zacharie Gross, visited the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research to get acquainted with its scientific infrastructure and research projects.

A meeting with the JINR leadership took place at the Scientists’ Club. The Joint Institute was represented by Director Grigory Trubnikov, Vice-Director Sergey Dmitriev, Chief Scientific Secretary Sergey Nedelko, and Head of the International Cooperation Department Otilia-Ana Culicov. The Embassy’s delegation included Minister-Counsellor Zacharie Gross, Regional Atomic Energy and Technology Advisor Alexander Gorbachev, Attache for Scientific and University Cooperation Philippe Arnaud, and an employee of the Atomic Energy Department Tatiana Sikacheva.

In his opening remarks, Grigory Trubnikov highlighted the rich history of scientific cooperation between Dubna and France, emphasising the long-term contribution of French researchers to the work of JINR’s Governing and Advisory Bodies. The Director noted that several JINR employees received one of France’s highest awards, the National Order of the Legion of Honour ceremoniously presented at the Embassy in Moscow. Grigory Trubnikov expressed hope for a successful resumption of active cooperation with the French scientific community.

Zacharie Gross highlighted the high quality of the Joint Institute’s facilities and the research conducted in Dubna. “Science cannot exist without international collaboration,” he stressed. “The Embassy’s mission is maintaining whichever ties we can in order to return to full cooperation in research as soon as the political conditions are favourable”.

In addition, Alexander Gorbachev and Philippe Arnaud noted the Embassy’s commitment to sustaining contacts between French scientific centres and organizations based in Russia so that the parties could return to full cooperation in the near future.

Sergey Dmitriev spoke about the valuable experience of working with many French high-tech companies and expressed confidence in the resumption of joint work. Sergey Nedelko noted that cooperation between the Institute and France has always included a wide range of theoretical and experimental research and emphasised the important role of JINR’s status as an intergovernmental organization.

Zacharie Gross congratulated Grigory Trubnikov on his re-election as the JINR Director and expressed hope for a prompt improvement in the political situation, which would allow the resumption of professional relations between French specialists and JINR. “I am convinced that French scientists and colleagues from the JINR Member States can lay a solid foundation for large-scale, mutually beneficial cooperation. The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research will make all necessary efforts to restore scientific partnerships,” Grigory Trubnikov concluded.

At the end of the meeting, representatives of the embassy visited the sites of the Superheavy Element Factory at the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, the IBR-2 Research Reactor at the Laboratory of Neutron Physics, and the NICA Accelerator Complex at the Laboratory of High Energy Physics.

JINR Press Office