Ukraine's Accession to NATO Will Not Bring Peace, Only Provoke Russia - Sarkozy
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PARIS (Sputnik) - Ukraine's potential membership in NATO will not bring peace to Europe, while Russia will only consider it as provocation, France's ex-president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said on Wednesday.
"The question is simple: will Ukraine's entry into NATO contribute to peace or not? Could we at least debate on this issue? In my opinion, it will not lead to peace. Ukraine's entry into NATO is a provocation as Russia sees it," Sarkozy told a French news agency.
The ex-president stressed that as an "alternative worth discussing" Ukraine should have a neutral status and receive security guarantees from the UN or the international community.
"There are two ways to finish the war: to destroy each other, but I warn you that we will not manage to destroy the second nuclear power and it will plunge us into a world war, or diplomatic talks," Sarkozy argued.
13 July 2023, 16:05 GMT
He is convinced that hostilities in Ukraine are aimed at achieving a "change of power in Russia," while "those who claim it is impossible to negotiate with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin have never met him, as a rule." France's ex-leader believes that Russia and Europe "should work together."
"We are neighbors. This is the difference between us and the US," he said. "The US wanted Turkiye in the EU because it [Turkiye] is their ally. The US wanted Ukraine in the EU because the more countries of Eastern Europe are in the EU the more dependent it becomes on the US. The US wants an EU it can control, while I want the EU to be independent," the ex-president explained.
In August, Sarkozy was strongly criticized in France following an interview with a French newspaper in which he called the idea of Crimea returning back to Ukraine "illusory."
Ukraine applied for accelerated NATO membership in September 2022 following the start of the Russian military operation.
As a result of the July 11-12 NATO Summit in Vilnius, NATO leaders agreed on a package of three elements to bring Ukraine closer to the alliance. The first element is the creation of an assistance program for Ukraine that will facilitate its transition to NATO standards, training and doctrine. The second element is the establishment of a NATO-Ukraine Council, and the third is the cancellation of the membership action plan for Ukraine, which will allow Kiev's accession process to be shortened from two steps to one. However, the bloc has not extended an official invitation to Kiev.
