If Elected, French Presidential Pre-Candidate Fillon Says, He’ll Re-start Dialogue with Russia

PRESS RELEASE

If Elected, French Presidential Pre-Candidate Fillon Says, He’ll Re-start Dialogue with Russia

Nov. 25, 2016 (EIRNS)—French Republican Presidential pre-candidate François Fillon said that if he were elected he would immediately reverse the government’s dangerous policy against Russia and open a dialogue with Russia. The comments were made during his debate with rival candidate in the Republicans primary, Alain Juppé. Both Fillon and Juppé are former prime ministers.

"I think that François Hollande’s policies in the past four years regarding Russia, are absurd. They force Russia to take a harsher stance, to isolate itself, to trigger a nationalist reflex,"

Fillon said.

"Russia is the world’s biggest country, armed to its teeth with nuclear weapons and, therefore, poses danger if treated the way we have been doing it in the past five years,"

he continued according to TASS which does not say where he made the statement.

"I demand that we sit at the negotiating table with Russia, without waiting for a permission from the Americans, and that we try to restore ties,"

Fillon said

Pointing to the growing economic strength of Asia as being Europe’s main concern, he said,

"It is not a military threat, but a threat of global economic domination. Would it be wise to use the policy of sanctions, which produced no result apart from harming French farmers, in order to push Russia closer to Asia? I think that this policy has failed, and it’s time to admit it,"

he said.

On Syria he said Europe needs to include Russia, Iran and the government of Bashar Assad in the talks to end the conflict, according to another TASS report yesterday. "Did our actions help to put an end to this violence? No, and we have to admit it and start looking for another way to act," he said.

"In order to stop this war, we need to involve Russia in negotiations with Europe. We need to talk with Iran because, regardless of the country’s flaws, it plays a key role in the Syrian conflict. We also need to finally accept the idea that, possibly, a certain kind of interim agreement will be concluded in order to seal the status quo and at least stop the violence,"

he said during the televised debates before the second round of primaries on Nov. 27. While Fillon pushed what have been called Thatcherite economic policies, a spot poll showed that 57% of the viewers thought he won the debate.