Hollande calls for more sanctions against Moscow and Sarkozy considers that diplomacy is the only possible way
French President Emmanuel Macron received today at the Elysée Palace his predecessors in office, the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and the socialist François Hollande, with whom he addressed separately the situation of the war in Ukraine.
“Europe, France and the Atlantic Alliance need to be up to the task,” Hollande said at the end of the meeting. The socialist politician considers that the level of sanctions approved against Russia “is not enough.” For this reason, he advocated “strengthening the sanctions” against Moscow, especially the “financial and monetary” ones, so that “Russia – not its population, but its economy and its leaders – can be hit hard by this response.”
Hollande, who presided over France between 2012 and 2017, considered that it will be necessary to bear the consequences of the sanctions on Moscow. “How can we justify that we continue to buy Russian gas, especially in Germany?” asked the former socialist president, who ruled out any military intervention in Ukraine, since this country is not a member of NATO.
After meeting with Hollande, Macron received Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace. “The time for de-escalation must come. The only possible solution is diplomacy. The alternative is total war,” warned Sarkozy, who considered that the international community must “continue on the path of diplomacy” because “there is no other option.”
Sarkozy, who presided over France between 2007 and 2012, advocated “inventing institutions that allow the multilateralism of the 21st century”, since he considers “NATO, the G7 and the G20 do not work and even the UN oscillates between apathy and immobility”.
#Macron #discusses #Hollande #Sarkozy #war #Ukraine