Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Photo/REUTERS
PARIS – Diplomacy is the only way to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, which should be neutral and a bridge between Russia and the European Union (EU).
The former President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, confirmed this in an interview on Wednesday (16/8/2023).
Sarkozy, 68, spoke to Le Figaro about his upcoming book, ‘The Time of Battles’, a memoir covering the 2009-2011 period of his 2007-2012 presidency. “We need the Russians and they need us,” the interview is captioned.
Addressing the Ukraine situation, Sarkozy said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “wrong” for “invading” the country and failing to achieve his goals, but that he was “irrational” and should be approached through diplomacy.
“Russia is Europe’s neighbor and will remain so,” said Sarkozy, so the EU needs to get out of the current impasse because “in this case, European interests are not aligned with American interests. We can’t cling to this weird notion of ‘fighting without fighting’.”
In Sarkozy’s vision, a compromise would involve the West recognizing Crimea as Russia, because “when it comes to this territory, which was Russian territory until 1954 and where the majority of the population always felt Russian, I think every step back is illusory.”
“Ideally, there should be a referendum held under the strict control of the international community, to ratify the current state of affairs,” he said.
“The same will apply to disputed areas in eastern and southern Ukraine,” said the former French leader, although that will depend on what happens on the ground.
2023-08-17 00:04:00
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