Image Credit: LUDOVIC MARIN / Contributor / Getty 
European leaders must recognise that Ukraine cannot win its war with Russia and work on real diplomacy, not just phoney talk, so that the fighting can stop and soldiers—and, indeed, citizens—can stop dying.
That is according to former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, whose recent interview spanning a range of topics with Le Figaro was also discussed in our coverage of the upcoming vote of confidence organised by French Prime Minister François Bayrou.
Sarkozy said that at this stage in the conflict, “everything must still be done for peace,” asking, “Do we consider that a million dead and wounded is not enough and that the war must continue?”
He also demanded that European leaders be honest, first about the fact that “there will inevitably be territorial sacrifices” by Ukraine, but also that it would be a “mistake” for Ukraine to enter either the European Union or NATO.
When we know Russia’s history with France and Europe, we can only regret today’s total lack of understanding.
Poland late last month joined ranks with those countries opposed to Ukraine’s EU Accession, but plenty of Brussels-friendly governments continue to state this as their aim—albeit one that might not come to fruition for another decade, if not several decades.
Sarkozy also criticised designating Russia as Europe’s “primary risk and our priority enemy,” saying that was a “historic error.”
His message is, of course, unlikely to go down well in the Élysée, from which Emmanuel Macron has been attempting to pose as Ukraine’s primary saviour on the world—or, at least, the European—stage.
But the former president did stress that his view “does not mean that Vladimir Putin is not responsible, because he is primarily responsible.” He also talked up the importance of “solid security guarantees for the future,” which are unlikely to come solely from Europe.
