- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

French presidential candidate Sarkozy prefers U.S. to Russia

Subscribe
The candidate most likely to become the next French president said Wednesday that he would prefer forging closer relations with the United States rather than Russia.
PARIS, April 18 (RIA Novosti) - The candidate most likely to become the next French president said Wednesday that he would prefer forging closer relations with the United States rather than Russia.

Nikolas Sarkozy is the leader of the ruling right-of-center party UMP and the former interior minister who stepped down in March to focus on his presidential bid in the upcoming election.

"If you want to know which one is closer to me - the U.S. or Russia, which we saw in action in Chechnya - I will say the U.S.," the candidate said.

During its two military campaigns against a separatist regime in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya in the mid-1990s through the early 2000s, Russia faced widespread international criticism for alleged human rights violations committed against Chechen civilians.

Sarkozy said France must develop friendly relations with the U.S., but at the same time must be free to level criticism against the country when needed.

"I tell great powers, including the U.S., that they are mistaken because they have not signed the Kyoto Protocol and that they are wrong in Iraq. But we have common values, such as democracy," Sarkozy said.

Opinion polls have given Sarkozy 27% of the votes. He is followed by Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal, with 23% of the votes, and Francois Bayrou from the centrist Union for French Democracy with 19%.

The first round has been scheduled for April 22 and the second for May 6 if there is no outright winner.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала