PARIS, November 25. /TASS/. France should put an end to the policy of sanctions against Russia, the former president of the French National Assembly, Patrick Ollier, said ahead of a visit to Russia by French President Francois Hollande.
"Sanctions imposed against Russia must be lifted," Patrick Ollier, a deputy of the French parliament from the Republicans party, told Tass. "I hope the French president is heading to Russia exactly with these thoughts and intends to change the policy towards Russia," said the politician who was in the French government in 2010-2012.
The politician urged "a return to relations of trust" with Moscow. "I cannot agree with sanctions against Russia, they must be lifted as soon as possible," he added.
"It is necessary to cooperate with Russia on the Syrian crisis to solve the problems that France has faced," he continued. "Our priority is a big coalition that will unite European countries, Russia and the United States," Ollier stressed, noting that his party led by former President Nicolas Sarkozy supported that.
"We have gone through an awful drama," he said, recalling the recent chain of terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 129 people and left more than 300 people wounded. "France is very grateful to the Russian friends for their resolutely denouncing the terrorist attacks and for words of sympathy to the families of the killed and to all who were injured," he said.
"Our counties are situated on the same continent, we experience the events in the same way," he said, noting that General de Gaulle’s idea of united Europe stretching from the Atlantic to the Urals was especially topical at the moment.
"Like all followers of Charles de Gaulle, I find it difficult to understand how France could have distanced itself from Russia on the global arena," he said. "We are in favor of rapprochement of our countries, and as soon as possible," Ollier said.
The parliamentarian plans to visit Moscow for an anniversary conference of Russia’s Rossotrudnichestvo (Federal Agency for Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation). The city of Rueil-Malmaison, where he is Mayor since June 2004, develops partnership relations with the city of Sergiyev Posad located 70 kilometers north of Moscow.
"I highly appreciate the activity of the Russian president, his vies that I share in many respects, he noted.
The Russian and French presidents, Vladimir Putin and Francois Hollande, will meet in Moscow on November 26 to coordinate action in fight against terrorism.