After a remarkable exit on the set of “C dans l’air” on February 6, during which she warned in Russian that a war in Ukraine “would be a terrible mistake” for Russia, Valérie Pécresse once once more takes a stand on the subject of the crisis that is shaking Europe. The LR presidential candidate called on Wednesday to say “stop” to Vladimir Putin by inflicting “really powerful sanctions” on him, following an interview on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis with the Ukrainian ambassador to France Oleg Shamshur.
“We must condemn absolutely, firmly, and put in place really powerful sanctions to avoid the escalation of this conflict and tell Vladimir Putin, now it’s over “said Valérie Pécresse at the exit of the embassy. The European Union and the United States detailed on Tuesday a first set of sanctions once morest several Russian personalities and entities, a response visibly insufficient for the right-wing candidate.
The dialogue with Vladimir Putin “must be done without any naivety”, she continued, referring to Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Moscow on February 7. The LR candidate estimated that the Russian president had “instrumentalised the European Union” and “his dialogue with President Macron” to “violate the Minsk agreements” and “call into question the integration of Donbass into Ukraine”.
“A France on its knees”
Valérie Pécresse also deplored the behavior of certain candidates towards the Russian president, “who are still aligned with (his) positions”. While all the presidential candidates have generally condemned Vladimir Putin’s recognition of the pro-Russian separatist republics, some are opposed to the sanctions put in place by the West once morest Russia and are in favor of maintaining dialogue with the Russian president. . “To be aligned with Putin’s positions is not France standing up, it’s not France Gaullienne, it’s France on its knees”, she underlined.
The LR candidate also renewed her support for the Ukrainian people who are, according to her, “victim today of an intolerable aggression and a violation of the Treaty of Minsk”. “We must do everything to avoid this war”, she continued, expressing her “willingness to work alongside all those who would like to find a negotiated solution for the de-escalation of this conflict”.
“I had proposed a conference on security in Europe in January, today it is no longer relevant given the escalation of the conflict, but if there were de-escalation it would become so once more,” said she recalled. On Tuesday, Valérie Pécresse had estimated that the guarantee of security at the Ukrainian borders might go through “a postponement” of the integration of Ukraine into NATO.
