A divisive question. The environmental senators advocated this Friday for the reception in France of the Russian “opposers” and “deserters” who reject their possible mobilization on the Ukrainian front, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
While Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday the “partial mobilization” of Russians of fighting age, the twelve environmental senators ask the government to welcome “everyone who rejects this murderous madness of Putin”, the “opposers” and the ” deserters”.
“A large part of the Russian population refuses to participate in a murderous war that it disapproves of,” these parliamentarians believe in a press release in which they share the letter sent to Elisabeth Borne.
Division
To “welcome Russian citizens who are firmly opposed to the conflict”, “France must add its voice to a collective effort and bring this need to a European level”, continues the environmental group, chaired by the ‘Isere senator Guillaume Gontard .
“We ask to advocate before the European authorities for the extension of the scope of application of the directive on temporary protection, which has proven its effectiveness for the reception and transit of five million people who have fled from Ukraine,” the statement concludes.
In Brussels, the European Commission “closely follows the situation” of Russians fleeing the mobilization and is consulting with member states, its spokesman, Eric Mamer, said on Friday. “It’s a tough question,” he admitted.
And it divides the European states between Germany, which says it is ready to receive defectors, and the Baltic countries, which are hostile to it. An emergency meeting of the ambassadors of the 27 is scheduled for Monday in Brussels.
The European executive did not give a figure on the extent of the arrival of Russians in the EU after the “partial mobilization” order announced on Wednesday by Vladimir Putin.
Source: BFM TV
