Sarkozy Says He Won’t Shake Hands With Ahmadinejad, Iran Outraged

Chris Jones — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:28:23 +0000

Kudos to French president Nicolas Sarkozy for continuing to keep the pressure on Iran. Sarko has really been a great ally on the Iranian issue and never misses an opportunity to blast Ahmadinejad.

Earlier in the week Sarko said this in a speech:

“it is impossible for me to shake hands with someone who dared to say that Israel should be wiped off the map.”

and this:

“We can not solve this crisis without talking to Iranian leaders,” he said, but added: “I know perfectly well that the Iranian president does not represent Iran, much less the Iranian people.”

“The Iranian people are one of the greatest people of the world, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, cultured and open, but they have the misfortune to be represented today by some of their leaders.”

Both statements have allegedly outraged the Iranian government. Iran’s deputy foreign minister summoned his French counterpart to express anger of the comments. He warned that Sarko’s comments could damage the two countries’ bilateral relations.

The French president’s comments while controversial in wimpy Europe were certainly accurate and very well said. The french president along with British PM Brown deserve a lot of credit for not going all wobbly — to borrow a phrase from Lady Thatcher.

-Chris Jones

(hat tip Weasel Zippers)

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Sarkozy Says He Won’t Shake Hands With Ahmadinejad, Iran Outraged

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