MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti) – Henri Hude, a prominent French philosopher, expert on war ethics and lecturer at a number of NATO military academies, has written an open letter to French President Francois Hollande urging him to stop backing violence in Ukraine and step away from sanctions against Russia.
In an interview with RIA Novosti, Hude said events in Ukraine had taken on a “rather violent” edge that had a lot to do with the radical elements within the pro-regime movement – something France prefers to close its eyes to.
“It looks like a rather violent conflict. I’m sure that if it were the other way round, if the sides were to change places, and our forces [federalists] behaved like their opponents there’d be uproar among the French population and the media,” Hude told RIA Novosti.
The expert and author of several works on ethics and politics said in his letter there was a distinction to be made between peaceful pro-independence protesters and violent far-right militants of the Right Sector movement who took part in the February coup in Kiev.
“Of course, there were democratic forces who participated in the Maidan uprising to combat corruption and initiate reforms in their country – and we sympathize with them – but there are also dangerous elements, and I fail to comprehend the actions of our government, and the EU in general. I think it’s a disgrace for our media, who imagine Nazis to be everywhere, to close eyes to the real ones right before them,” Hude said.
He added that if the radicals were to support the ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, they would be covered by the media around the clock.
When asked if the sanctions that the EU imposed on Russia had any impact on Europe, the pundit said it was Germany that would eventually be on the receiving end. But other members of the union will be affected as well.
“There is a clear economic interdependence between Russia and Europe in the field of natural resources, energy, market and almost inexhaustible opportunities for investment … So it’s quite possible that at the end of the day our own economy will suffer,” he suggested.
Hude maintained that the energy sector was Europe’s weakest spot. “I think that Russia won’t have a problem finding another buyer [for its gas],” he said, adding Russian natural gas “could go to China and never come back.” At the same time, the United States is now trying to take advantage of the situation by forcing its high-cost shale gas on Europe.
The French expert also accused NATO of building “a global army to act as an international policeman under the lead of the United States.”
“America’s imperial policies on the global scale are comparable to those of Napoleon in 1812. We believe it’s absolutely out of question that we shouldn’t let ourselves be dragged into this kind of a gamble,” Hude said.
Hude told RIA Novosti that the open letter to Hollande was sent on behalf of his “Force – Life” party that has nominated him as its candidate in the European Parliament.
