The president of Russia, Dmitri A. Medvedev, arrived in Paris on Monday with warships, natural gas, and a special relationship with Europe on his mind. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, greeted him warmly on the start of what will be a three-day visit, intended to enhance the prestige of both men, profit their companies and remind French voters that Mr. Sarkozy’s foreign policy is not beholden to Washington.
Despite open American criticism from the Obama administration and from Congress, as well as from European Union allies in the Baltics, Mr. Sarkozy announced that France had entered “exclusive negotiations” to sell four Mistral-class amphibious assault ships to Russia.
The Russian naval commander has said that with the Mistral, which can carry helicopters or tanks, Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia would have been much faster. The arms sale would be the largest by a North Atlantic Treaty Organization country to Russia.
But in a joint news conference with Mr. Medvedev on Monday evening, Mr. Sarkozy said that Russia was “a partner,” no longer an enemy, and that it was “time to turn the page” on the cold war.
Mr. Medvedev called the deal “a symbol of trust between our two countries” and pressed for “Russia and France to be partners on European security.”
Will Russia's new "partner" prove to be a postive force in the years to come, or will the alliance suffer from resentments from the Cold War. Thoughts?
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