France to Georgia: “Where are the Americans? … You Are Alone”
Sally McNamara /
A new book has revealed sensational details about Russia’s invasion of Georgia in August 2008, claiming that French President Nicolas Sarkozy bullied Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili into signing a vague and unenforceable ceasefire agreement, which eventually saw Russia illegally annex large parts of Georgia’s territory. Sarkozy is quoted as saying: “Where is Bush? Where are the Americans? They are not coming to save you. No Europeans are coming, either. You are alone. If you don’t sign, the Russian tanks will be here soon.”
This is just another insight into the EU’s woeful mismanagement of the crisis, which remains a festering sore on Europe’s doorstep. The EU’s policy toward Russia – driven by France and Germany – returned to business-as-usual with indecent haste after the war, underpinned by Paris’s proposed sale of its Mistral class warships to Moscow. The Mistral is one of the most advanced helicopter carriers in the world which would significantly upgrade Russia’s power projection. Crucially, it would afford the Russian Black Sea Fleet exponentially quicker capacity to deliver its troops into Georgia. (more…)