Sarkozy accused of being ‘Russian influencer’ for remarks on Ukraine war

Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused of being a “Russian influencer” after suggesting that referendums in occupied territories might be the best best way to end the invasion of Ukraine.

The former French president also dismissed Ukraine’s hopes of taking Crimea as an “illusion” as Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato chief, sought to stamp out apparent confusion in the alliance on whether Kyiv should give up any territory to end the conflict.

Mr Sarkozy said the Ukrainians “will want to reconquer what has been unjustly taken from them”. 

However, the 68-year-old told Le Figaro: “But if they can’t manage it completely, the choice will be between a frozen conflict … or taking the high road out with referendums strictly overseen by the international community.”

Regarding the Crimean peninsula, which Russia claimed to have annexed in 2014, Mr Sarkozy said “any return to the way things were before is an illusion”.

In a lengthy interview ahead of the release of his memoir, The Time of the Combats, Mr Sarkozy said: “An incontestable referendum … will be needed to solidify the current state of affairs.

“Putin was wrong, what he did was serious and has ended in failure but once you’ve said that, we need to find a way out.”

The Right-winger also said Ukraine should remain “neutral” and had no place in the European Union or Nato.

The remarks drew an immediate response from Kyiv, with Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, saying they were based on “criminal logic”.

“You cannot trade other people’s territories because you are afraid of someone or because you are friends with criminals,” added Mr Podolyak.

While in office, Mr Sarkozy “deliberately participated in a criminal conspiracy for Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian territories”, he added.

On Thursday, Mr Stoltenberg insisted it was up to Ukraine to decide when the conditions are right to join any negotiations following the Russian invasion, emphasising the alliance’s unchanged stance after comments this week by a senior colleague.

“It is the Ukrainians, and only the Ukrainians, who can decide when there are conditions in place for negotiations, and who can decide at the negotiating table what is an acceptable solution,” said Mr Stoltenberg.

On Tuesday, Stian Jenssen, Mr Stoltenberg’s chief of staff at Nato, suggested that Ukraine may cede territory to Russia as part of a deal to end the war. He later said he regretted his comments.

In his interview, Mr Sarkozy insisted that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, was “not irrational” and could be open to diplomacy if it was handled correctly. 

By way of example, he harked back to Moscow’s 2008 invasion of Georgia, when Mr Sarkozy said he “convinced [Putin] to withdraw his tanks”.

At the time, Mr Sarkozy’s aides leaked details of a conversation in which they said Putin had threatened to “hang” Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s then president, “by the balls”.

‘Nothing is possible without compromise’

On Thursday, Mr Sarkozy said: “Russia is Europe’s neighbour and will remain so. Diplomacy, discussion and talks remain the only way to find an acceptable solution. Nothing is possible without compromise.”

The ex-president, who has faced a raft of corruption cases since leaving office, also sparked outrage back home.

Mr Sarkozy “should be considered a Russian influencer”, said Julien Bayou, a senior Green Party MP, telling the broadcaster LCI that the interview was “lunatic” and “shocking”. He suggested that the ex-president had been “bought by Russia”.

Mr Bayou recalled an ongoing investigation into Mr Sarkozy’s ties to a Russian insurance company, for which he was paid €3 million (£2.6 million), on suspicion of influence peddling and concealing crimes. 

François Fillon, Mr Sarkozy’s ex-prime minister, also received large payments from big Russian energy groups and Marine Le Pen, the National Rally leader, was given a loan from a bank close to the Kremlin.

Mr Bayou denounced “Russia’s sway over elites” in France, saying that it is a “poison for our democracy”.