French politician urges Paris to maintain close ties with Moscow

France is interested in maintaining close ties with Russia, Thierry Mariani, an honorary member of the French parliament and co-Chairman of the French-Russian dialogue, told France Inter radio on Sunday.

"France has common interests with Russia in the area of international relations, and it is in the interests of France to have closer ties with Russia, at the same time maintaining its current level of relations with the US," Mariani said, as he was answering questions following a recent visit to Russia at the head of a delegation of French politicians taking part in festivities that marked the fifth anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia.

"However, at the present time, France has found itself involved in a spiral of opposition moves aimed against Russia, and this runs counter to its true interests," the politician stressed. He believes that in general "Europe should hold a position between the two blocs, without siding with any of them".

In his radio interview, he specifically drew attention to the US bid to influence the position of the Europeans. "I am shocked that Europe followed the system of sanctions that the US had imposed against Russia. As a result, French agricultural products found themselves banned for exports to Russia," he said.

"However, at the same time, the US side that needs space cooperation with Russia is not planning to impose sanctions in that sector. It turns out that at the time when apple exports to Russia were banned in France, the US retained its possibility to cooperate with the Russian side on the trajectory of space technologies," he stressed. Thierry Mariani urged France and the European Union to stop "following thoughtlessly the course dictated by the US".