The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, distanced himself this Sunday from the statements of his United States counterpart, Joe Bidenwho described Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, as a “butcher”, and pointed out that “everything” must be done to avoid an escalation in this conflict.
“I would not use those words,” said the French head of state on the France 3 network.
The also candidate for re-election in April pointed out that “everything must be done to make the situation slide”: “I keep talking to President Putin because what do we want to do collectively? We want to stop the war that Russia has launched, without waging war and without escalation.”
Macron stressed the importance of not falling into this escalation, “neither in action nor in word”, and advocated diplomatic means to achieve a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
«Geographically those who are in front of Russia are the Europeans. The United States is an ally in the framework of NATO with whom we share many values, but those of us who live together with Russia are the Europeans », he recalled.
The president of France, who since the beginning of the war on February 24 has maintained regular telephone contact with both Putin and the Ukrainian leader, Volodímir Zelensky, specified that he will speak again tomorrow or Tuesday with the Russian president to organize « in the best conditions» an evacuation operation from the besieged Mariupol, in southern Ukraine.