The Russian president, like the former French president, expressed concern about the increase in the African population combined with the decline in the European population.
Embarrassing support. Two weeks after a long interview by Nicolas Sarkozy with Le Figaro, in which the former President of the Republic spoke about world population in the coming decades, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that he completely agreed with the words of the former tenant of the Élysée.
As a reminder, Nicolas Sarkozy estimated in the French daily that the population of the African continent will double by 2050, with half of the inhabitants under 20 years old. At the same time, he spoke of the decline in the European population and warned of waves of migration.
“I largely agree with him. He says that by 2050 Africa will already have 2.5 billion inhabitants and Europe will only have 450 or 430 million. And what about “Asia?” China has one and a half billion inhabitants, India has one and a half billion. “Half, Indonesia already has 300 million,” said the Kremlin strongman, interviewed during a meeting with teenagers on the occasion of Russia’s return to school.
The comments were translated and picked up by Sputnik Media, a news agency fully funded by the Russian state.
Criticism and accusations
This appearance by the Russian President comes just days after Nicolas Sarkozy’s comments during TF1’s 8pm show, where he returned to the comments that in his new work he deals with the topic of the war in Ukraine, The time of fighting. “How do we help Ukraine? I say we need to discuss with Russia,” he wrote.
“There are two ways to win a war. “You either destroy your opponent, or you discuss with him and find a compromise,” defended the former head of state afterwards.
In the interview with Le Figaro mentioned by Vladimir Putin, Nicolas Sarkozy also commented on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. According to him, despite the Russian invasion, Ukraine must “remain neutral” and not join NATO or the European Union. “Ukraine is a link between the West and the East, and it must remain that way,” he emphasized.
This opinion aroused the former president’s ire from many politicians, who accused him of being pro-Russian. Among them was the former Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who deplored “that a former President of the Republic represents a position diametrically opposed to the official position of his country.”
“Yes, I said that,” he added when asked if the former president could be “pro-Russian.”
Vladimir Putin’s comments also come days after the death of the leader of the Wagner paramilitary militia, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who in recent years had sought to expand Russian influence in Africa through various means, including disinformation, sometimes against the interests of France.