Emmanuel Macron says, ” Want to stop the war without further escalation.”
French President Emmanuel Macron replied to his US colleague Joe Biden’s description of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “butcher,” calling for prudence in both words and actions in dealing with the ongoing Ukraine war.
Putin has the gall to say he is “de-Nazifying” Ukraine.
This lie isn’t just cynical. It is obscene.
President Zelenskyy was democratically elected. He is Jewish — his father’s family was wiped out in the Nazi Holocaust.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 26, 2022
“I wouldn’t use this type of language since I continue to hold dialogue with President Putin,” Macron told Reuters after Biden stated Putin should not be allowed to stay in power.
“We want to end the war that Russia has started in Ukraine without escalation,” Macron said, adding that the goal was to achieve a cease-fire and the evacuation of soldiers through diplomatic methods.
“If this is what we want to accomplish, neither words nor deeds should worsen,” Macron continued.
MORE: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is looking to visit India soon.
In a speech in Warsaw, US President Donald Trump stated that Putin “cannot be in power.” Biden’s words, however, did not constitute a shift in Washington’s strategy, according to a White House official, and were intended to prepare the world’s democracies for an extended struggle, not to support regime change in Russia.
Far-right Marine Le Pen, a presidential candidate in France, said she agreed with Macron’s approach.
When asked about Biden’s remark, she added, “Obviously, those comments throw fuel to the fire.”
Earlier on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he hoped to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days to discuss the situation in Ukraine and a plan to help people from the besieged city of Mariupol.
It’s worth noting that Putin dispatched troops to Ukraine as part of a “special military operation” to demilitarise and “denazify” the country.
On the other hand, Ukraine is open to discussing neutrality as part of a peace deal, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite another top Ukrainian official accusing Russia of attempting to split the country in two.
Meanwhile, on March 28-30, Ukraine and Russia will hold their next round of face-to-face negotiations in Turkey.
Eric is a professional news editor, writer, and blogger for the last 10 years. He is working with NewsGater as an off-beat news editor cum writer.