American Poodle No More: Sarkozy Questions U.S. Motives in Ukraine (Le Monde, France)

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American Poodle No More: Sarkozy Questions U.S. Motives in Ukraine (Le Monde, France)

"The separation between Europe and Russia is a tragedy. That the Americans may welcome it is their right and their problem ... but we don't want a revival of the Cold War between Europe and Russia. … The Crimea chose Russia … we cannot reproach them for it." – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy

By Benoît Vitkine

Translated By Martyn Fogg

February 12, 2015

France – Le Monde – Original Article (French)

On Saturday, February 7, Nicolas Sarkozy spoke briefly about the conflict in Ukraine and its consequences for relations between Europe and Russia. Before UMP officials (Union for a Popular Movement), the president of the opposition party maintained: "The separation between Europe and Russia is a tragedy. That the Americans may welcome it is their right and their problem ... but we don't want a revival of the Cold War between Europe and Russia."

This while at the same time at the Munich Security Conference, diplomats were talking in Cold War tones about the crisis in Ukraine. Based on his observation, which puts all the responsibility for the split between the West and Russia on Europeans, Sarkozy presented a "solution" based on "three principles."

Crimea 'Chose' Russia

"Crimea chose Russia … we cannot reproach them for it," the UMP leader said. But in fact, the debate has never really focused on whether to "reproach" Crimea or Russia. Rather, it concerns the legality of the annexation Mr. Sarkozy seems implicitly to want to recognize. As an aside, if a majority of Western leaders foresee how hard it will be to reverse, the UMP president has gone much further: he has embraced the rhetoric of Russian officials, pretending it involved a democratic choice in its proper form.

Posted by Worldmeets.US

The "choice" of Crimea to which Nicolas Sarkozy refers is the unrecognized referendum of March 16, organized without any international scrutiny except for the presence of "observers" who were members of parties of Europe's extreme right. This referendum, which supposedly saw the "yes" vote for Russia win by 96.6 percent, was held after the invasion of the Crimean Peninsula by unidentified armed men. Two months later Mr. Putin himself admitted they were Russian soldiers.

Nicolas Sarkozy's argument doesn't fail to surprise. He was president of the French Republic when at the end of the war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008, Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared independence. If this right of self-determination os so universal, why then didn't Mr. Sarkozy, in the name of France, recognize the two Georgian provinces?

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Le Temps, Switzerland: Arming Ukraine: Obama's Well-Founded Hesitations
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Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia: Gorbachev: West 'Resigned' to Crimea's Return to Russia
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Le Figaro, France: Kremlin Demands for New Global Security Architecture Cannot be Ignored
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20 Minutes, Ukraine: Why Russians 'Will Want to Return Crimea' to Ukraine
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