MOSCOW, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - Former President of France Nicolas Sarkozy does not want to exacerbate the conflict between Western Europe and Russia, he feels "admiration and even friendship" towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, adviser to Sarkozy, French sociology professor, Yvan Blot told Rossiya Segodnya Wednesday.
"I know, because he does not hide it from me, that he feels admiration and even friendship towards Vladimir Putin. So he really does not want to fuel the conflict between Western Europe and Russia," Yvan Blot told International Information Agency Rossiya Segodnya.
Speaking about a proposal to formulate a new approach to the conflict in southeastern Ukraine, voiced by Nicolas Sarkozy, Blot said that in his opinion, Sarkozy is tired of watching European Union policies regarding the eastern part of the continent "as Russia systematically gets excluded from this format."
"I think that he wanted to make some kind of a gesture - to say that Russia is a part of Europe and if we are elaborating the [cooperation] treaties [with eastern European countries] then they need to be signed with Russia too," Blot explained.
Nicolas Sarkozy held the office of a French president from 2007-2012 and was the leader of the UMP conservative political party. Sarkozy retired from political life following his defeat in the 2012 presidential election.
Last week Sarkozy announced that he is aims to run for the country's top position once again.
