France’s newly elected president Nicolas Sarkozy gave an interview to the National Interest Journal. Sarkozy answered questions about French domestic and foreign policy. Some his statements showed rather tough attacks against Russia.

Particularly, speaking on the problem of human rights abuse, Nicolas Sarkozy noted that nation-states are no longer the sole actors on the international stage, and “the pursuit of status quo is not a policy; it is akin to giving up.”

“We cannot claim ignorance anymore, so we are loosing the possibility of remaining silent in the face of genocide or criminal behavior. Our silence, when faced with 200,000 deaths and 400,000 refugees in Chechnya, is unbearable,” said the new French leader.

Answering National Interest’s question whether it is more difficult to speak out against the major powers like China and Russia, Nicolas Sarkozy responded that the fact that China and Russia are great powers, but it should not “prevent us from denouncing their human rights violations.” Besides, he added: “Russia’s recent behavior makes me quite nervous.”

Nicolas Sarkozy also criticized US foreign policy. According to him, the friendship between Europe and the United States is a “cornerstone of world stability.”

But he added that friendship means “being with your friends when they need you and also being able to tell them the truth when they are wrong” and stressed it “means respect, understanding and affection . . . but not submission.”

Nicolas Sarkozy won the Sunday presidential election in France, defeating socialist Segolene Royal with 53.8% vs. 46.2%.

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