Paris, May 18, 2022 (EIRNS) – Despite the context of tensions in Eastern Europe due to the war in Ukraine, the French Presidency announced on May 12 that it “fully” supports the desire of Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Interviewed on May 17 on French Radio Channel Europe1, Henri Guaino, essayist and former advisor to President Nicolas Sarkozy, denounced the policy of President Emmanuel Macron and called on France to use its veto powers at NATO to block this process.
“The entry into NATO poses a real problem, we can prevent it!” declared Guaino, for whom France should veto these accessions. “It is not a ‘dry’ veto, it is a veto that must be put in the context of a serious negotiation, a ceasefire, a negotiation on the neutralization of Ukraine,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on May 16 that these memberships were not “an immediate threat.” But, he continued, “the deployment of [NATO] military infrastructure on the territories of these countries will of course lead to a response.”
“We should never have practiced the open door policy with NATO, never,” said Henri Guaino. “NATO was an organization directed against the Soviet Union, against the Warsaw Pact; we turned it into an anti-Russian organization. Well, I’m not sure it directly threatens Russia, but Russia perceives it as a threat.”
Every country has the right to say “no” to these membership requests, underscored Guaino. “What is needed is to save peace, peace in Europe and world peace because there we risk a lot,” he assured. “We must do something before the process gets out of hand, before it gets out of control.” (https://www.europe1.fr/politique/adhesion-de-la-finlande-et-de-la-suede-a-lotan-la-france-devrait-mettre-son-veto-juge-henri-guaino-4111855?fbclid=IwAR360G9ApUDPxiNL3IGcB6Rfa4ub2CD_rhuRDOUrK8AcNxaEQ5BZ8x1ftjM)