Former French president Hollande: Lying ‘second nature’ to Putin

Paris, April 5, (dpa/GNA) – Vladimir Putin is a serial liar, charges former French president, François Hollande, in an interview published in the Le Monde newspaper.

“Lying is second nature to him,” said Hollande. “Talking with Putin means listening to him for hours on end with the knowledge that he won’t do anything he says and won’t say anything about what he plans to do.”

He said Putin likes to give long speeches with historical references, that keep him from having to answer questions and give him wiggle room about any concessions he seems to give.

He said it’s important to keep channels to the Kremlin open, but warned all sides to keep their expectations in check. “Putin does not really want to negotiate now. His war goal is to occupy as large a part of Ukraine as possible.”

GNA