Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who opposed Ukraine’s entry into NATO at the alliance summit in Bucharest in 2008, now says that the neighboring country should “aspire” to become a “bridge” between Russia and Europe, TASS reports.

Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008Photo: Eric Feferberg / AFP / Profimedia Images

“Trying to protect Ukraine’s accession to NATO at any cost is a mistake,” Sarkozy said in an interview with the Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo.

“Ukraine’s vocation is to remain a neutral country with very reliable security guarantees from the international community, of course, and strive to once again become a bridge between Russia and Europe,” he added.

When asked by Spanish journalists, Nicolas Sarkozy also defended the policy of current French President Emmanuel Macron, who is trying to “keep the channel of communication open with his colleague Vladimir Putin almost until the end.”

“Yes, he was right to try to maintain a dialogue with President Putin, and I sincerely regret that he did not go further to continue this dialogue, as I did in 2008,” Sarkozy concluded.

Sarkozy and Merkel formed a united front against the US regarding the expansion of NATO to the East

During the NATO summit held in Bucharest in 2008, Sarkozy and former Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed the start of negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Georgia to NATO. At the time, the move was strongly supported by former US President George W. Bush, who was nearing the end of his second term.

Angela Merkel spoke about the decision after the start of the Russian invasion, saying in a brief press release issued in April 2022 that she had made the decision then.

Merkel said 14 years ago that it was too early for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO, but “it is clear that both countries have the prospect of membership.”

Her reaction last April came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said he was inviting her and Nicolas Sarkozy to Bucha to see the carnage wrought by the Russian army.

As for Nicolas Sarkozy, he was the subject of a wave of criticism in France just a few months ago after he said he supported a “neutral” Ukraine and a referendum on the “ratification” of the annexation of Crimea.

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