French presidential candidate and former Prime Minister of France Francois Fillon called for restoration of the relations with Moscow. He said the future of Europe directly depends on Russia as it is a country without a democratic tradition, but with a nuclear arsenal. That is, France should either try to find an agreement with Russia or confront it.
Fillon stressed that the Ukrainian issue should be resolved in order to restore ties with Russia. He said that Kiev must comply with the Minsk agreements as well as Moscow.
"Secondly, we need a new economic partnership with Russia. Finally, I propose a European-Russian conference on the conditions of security in Europe," Fillon was quoted as saying.
In November 2016 Fillon emerged as the winner of the first round of the Republicans primaries and became a presidential candidate. Fillon as well as Front National leader Marine Le Pen are the top two candidates in the two-step presidential election that is scheduled for April 23 and May 7, 2017.
