French Senator Urges Paris to Recognize US, NATO Control European Armies

Paris should realize that the US and NATO have an overwhelming control over European sovereign armies.

VIENNA (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexnadrova — Paris should finally realize that the United States and NATO have an overwhelming control over European sovereign armies, senator and member of the French parliament's defense committee Yves Pozzo di Borgo told Sputnik on Thursday.

"In France, we are obliged to recognize the fact that Americans are in control of the European politics. We are friends with the United States but as a member of the defense committee in the French parliament, I have to say that the United States has an overwhelming control over European armies and this is not right," the French parliamentarian said, commenting on the speech of Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) meeting in Vienna.

Earlier in the day, Naryshkin said that the main goal of NATO was not the European security but confrontation.

According to the French senator, the Russian speaker in his speech at the OSCE meeting "confronted NATO and the United States and was right about it."

In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the sole decision-maker in NATO was the United States, and Europe only followed its orders. This statement was echoed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in late January.

NATO has been increasing its military presence in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea since the outbreak of the conflict in southeastern Ukraine in April 2014, in response to what it considers Russia's aggressive foreign policy.

Russia has repeatedly dismissed the Ukraine-related accusations, warning that increased NATO activities near the country's borders could undermine regional and global stability.