3 jours d'après - tour 2

SARKOZY VICTORY SPELLS DOWNTURN
IN FRANCE-RUSSIA RELATIONS: ANALYSTS

MOSCOW May 8, 2007 (AFP) - Almost two days after Sarkozy's dramatic win, the Kremlin on Tuesday had still not issued any official congratulatory message, making Russia the only major world power not to have done so.

Analysts said the silence was a statement in itself.

"Congratulations from one head of state to another are more than just official protocol, they are a sign of personal relations," said Yevgeny Volk of the Heritage Foundation in Moscow.

... In a possible further sign of scepticism about the victory, news reports about the French election on Russian state television stations have focused coverage on relatively small anti-Sarkozy protests in the streets of Paris.

Russian newspapers also voiced concern on Tuesday about the future of relations between Paris and Moscow, pointing to critical statements about Putin and the war in Chechnya made by Sarkozy.

The pro-Kremlin Izvestia daily said lawmaker Pierre Lellouche, one of Sarkozy's advisers, was "particularly malicious towards Russia" and that his potential appointment as foreign minister would be "catastrophic."

Wait a minute, is that the postman?

AVEC DEUX JOURS DE RETARD,
VLADIMIR POUTINE FÉLICITE NICOLAS SARKOZY
[AFTER A TWO-DAY DELAY,
VLADIMIR PUTIN CONGRATULATES NICOLAS SARKOZY]

8 mai 2007 (Le Monde) - Le président russe Vladimir Poutine a finalement fait parvenir, mardi 8 mai, ses félicitations au nouveau président Nicolas Sarkozy, près de 48 heures après son élection, en espérant une amélioration des relations entre les deux pays.

... L'une des priorités du Kremlin est"le maintien de contacts étroits russo-français au sein de l'ONU et du Conseil de sécurité", a ajouté M Poutine, qui a par ailleurs tenu à envoyer un message au président sortant Jacques Chirac, louant son rôle dans le développement des relations entre les deux pays.

[Russian president Vladimir Putin finally forwarded, Tuesday May 8, his congratulations to new president Nicolas Sarkozy, nearly 48 hours after his election, hoping for an improvement of the relations between the two countries.

... One of the priorities of the Kremlin is "the maintenance of close Russo-French contacts within the UN and of the Security Council", added Mr. Putin, who also made a point of sending a message to outgoing president Jacques Chirac, praising his role in the development of the relations between the two countries.]

And Comrade Putin is right to praise Jack. Jack worked mightily to place France squarely in Russia's shadow (also see this and this and this... oh, and this and this).

PFFT (What is this?): Russia's minion 2½ | Rayonnement français 0