LFI candidate for the presidential election Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Tuesday deemed “unacceptable” Moscow’s decision to recognize the independence of the pro-Russian separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, and advocated a “border conference ” within the framework of the OSCE.
“There is a choice to be made between force and negotiations”
This conference under the aegis of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which notably brings together the United States, Europe and Russia, should make it possible to know “what the Russians are talking about and want today and what North Americans”. “We can no longer bear that the discussions on the security of Europe are made between Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin”, declared Mr. Mélenchon during a press conference.
“There is a choice to be made between the showdown and negotiations,” he added. This conference must also address the question of “armaments that are legal or illegal on the territory of the Old Continent”. Because “for the French, it cannot be otherwise. It corresponds to our historical line”, put forward Mr. Mélenchon, who wondered about the “role” of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron during the crisis. .
“Was he a decoy for Putin?” he asked, referring to a “huge mess”.
“We cannot accept a border violation”
For Jean-Luc Mélenchon, regularly under fire from criticism from his opponents for his positions deemed pro-Russian, the Kremlin’s choice to recognize the independence of pro-Russian separatist regions is “a violation of the territorial integrity of the Ukraine”, “inadmissible”.
The sending of Russian military forces presented as peacekeeping forces by Moscow “is a form of grating black humor which ends up making (this) spectacle odious”. “We cannot as French people accept a violation of the borders” by force, he added. “To touch the map, to touch the borders, is to create a risk of generalized war”, warned the rebellious leader.
In terms of the sanctions brandished by Washington and the European countries, the LFI candidate considered that these “have never led to anything”. “It is the French who will pay the price,” he said, recalling the consequences of the previous set of sanctions against Russia, particularly on the agricultural side.