Russia and France Should Lead 'European Confederation' – French General

With global tensions reaching a fever pitch, many Europeans, including at the very top, have started to realize a need for good-neighborly and trusting relations with Russia.

While on a visit to Finland, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested revising the relationship between the EU and Russia, raising the issue for the second time in recent days. Sputnik France has discussed this with Didier Tauzin, a French general and a former presidential candidate.

Didier Tauzin said that he agreed with Macron on this particular issue and that he endorses the idea of "returning Russia to the European community" – a concept Tauzin has consistently defended in his books and public appearances.

He believes that the European continent, which is the "heart of the world,” and the birthplace of "the most humane civilization on Earth,” is facing many problems.

"Europe, of which Russia is part, expects a difficult 21st century," Tauzin said, pointing in particular to the fact that 80 years from now Europe will have to deal with an Africa that has a population of 4 billion people.

He said that Europe should move quickly "to establish peace and develop all countries south of us, from Afghanistan to Morocco, all the way down to South Africa. In this direction, much remains to be done, unfortunately!"

This is exactly what Europe needs, not the EU, he added.

"Europe, in my opinion, rests on two pillars: Russia in the east and France in the west," Didier Tauzin said.

The general supports the idea of "European defense," but not the one it is currently moving towards. He believes that European defense should come in the form of a union of sovereign states, a European confederation initiated and led by Russia and France. Others will follow suit!” Tauzin argued.

He believes that the European defense system will be “independent from NATO only if we fail to persuade the US to transform NATO into a peaceful alliance serving the interest of the whole world.”

In other words, the former general is talking about the need for Europe to detach itself from the US, "who, together with NATO, is leading us to war, in particular against Russia."

Didier Tauzin has admitted that achieving this won’t easy, saying that President Macron is hardly willing or able to promote the idea.

READ MORE: France Recognizes Russia's New Role in International Relations — Macron (VIDEO)

"The start of his term turned out to be quite lackluster in terms of foreign policy," Tauzin said.

"And I think that he is not entirely free to do what he wants," he added.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.