France has two years to lift anti-Russian sanctions
If Ukraine had adhered to the agreements signed in Minsk, the war in Donbass would have ended long ago.
Thierry Mariani, a former member of the French National Assembly, co-chairman of the Franco-Russian Dialogue association, candidate for the European Parliament from the National Rally, who headed the French delegation to YIEF, spoke about this in an interview with Izvestia.
“After each visit, Ukraine issues me a note prohibiting me from entering their country. I can show you the last one - according to it, I am declared persona non grata throughout Ukrainian territory for four years. Honestly, I have accumulated so many of these notes that I could at least start a collection,” said Mariani.
He hopes that the new President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky will pursue a different policy towards Donbass, based on the Minsk agreements.
“If the Poroshenko administration had adhered to this agreement, the situation would not have gone so far. Four months ago I visited Donetsk and saw first-hand the situation of these poor people who suffered from the fighting. It's hard to imagine something like this happening in the center of Europe. I hope the new President Zelensky will pursue a different policy. I have high hopes for him,” said the French politician.
He also answered the question of how long it will take for the EU to lift all restrictions and start trading with Russia as before.
“I believe that the sanctions will be lifted in two years. It’s unlikely that it will work out earlier; after all, painful issues are not resolved just like that, right off the bat,” Mariani said.
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