European leaders of the past had the courage to fight for their own opinions, while now there are no such politicians in Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said this in a conversation with journalist Pavel Zarubin.
He named former French presidents Charles de Gaulle, Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, as well as former German Chancellors Willy Brandt, Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder among such politicians.
‘These are people who had their own opinion and the courage to fight for this own opinion, to express it and talk about it, and to try to at least realise it in practical work. Today there are practically no such people there,’ the Russian leader noted.
Earlier, within the framework of the direct line format, which is combined with a large press conference, Putin named deceased politicians with whom he would like to communicate again.