Speaking to journalists recently, Macron reiterated his view that Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin should be given the opportunity to leave the war, which, according to the owner of the Elysee Palace, was a “historical and fundamental mistake.”
The aggressor’s well-being in the first place?
“We must not humiliate Russia so that, when hostilities are suspended, we can establish an exit corridor through diplomatic means,” Macron said.
Although Macroon has publicly expressed support for Ukraine and confirmed the supply of weapons to the Ukrainians, he has repeatedly called Putin since the resurgence of Russia’s invasion.
“I am convinced that France has a role to play as a mediator,” said the president, who has had hundreds of hours with Putin since December without any result.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba has said that calls to protect Russia from humiliation can only humiliate France itself and any other country that joins the calls. Kuleb added that Russia must be “put in place” in order to achieve peace and save lives.
Life in a metro station. Ukrainians have been hiding from Russian bombings there for more than two months
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No compromises
Kiev and its closest allies see Russia’s defeat as the only way to preserve Ukraine’s statehood and democratic order. The war crimes committed by the Russians prevent the adoption of any compromise that could save the Kremlin’s dictator’s reputation.
Meanwhile, some French and also German politicians would be willing to buy a seeming peace from Moscow in exchange for new territories deprived of Ukraine, although official Berlin and Paris are publicly expressing support for such proposals, at least for the time being.
Such was the capital of Ukraine, beautiful Kyiv, before the devastation of the Putin war
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Western politicians and the media have begun pushing Ukraine to end the war with unfavorable results, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, stressing that no such talks were being held with anyone.
Russia has occupied about 20% of Ukraine, and this area is the size of Italy, for example.
“The French president is still looking for ways to save the war criminal Putin from humiliation,” said Marco Michelsson, chairman of the Estonian parliamentary foreign affairs committee. He asks what Macron will say to the thousands of Ukrainians whose lives have been ruined by an “evil empire.”
Just defeat
Macron’s remarks have also caused confusion in the United States and Britain, which have clearly stated that Russia needs to be weakened to such an extent that it can no longer attack its neighbors again.
“Putin will only enter the talks when his army, whether humiliated or not, can no longer march forward. “Macron must focus on creating such conditions,” said Michael McFoll, the former US ambassador to Russia.
Russia fires at Odessa with cruise missiles; among the killed is a 3-month-old infant
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John Chippman, head of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, says Putin’s “face rescue” is a weak diplomatic goal. “Putin himself can take personal responsibility for his own face,” Chippman writes on Twitter, adding that humiliation would be a very lenient punishment for his war crimes.
History lessons
Nevertheless, Macron still wants to maintain France’s historically close diplomatic relations with Russia and warns of a possible escalation of Ukraine’s war, including the West. He refers to the Treaty of Versailles, which was imposed on defeated Germany after the First World War in 1919.
Some historians believe that the degrading provisions of the Treaty of Versailles were to blame for the Nazis coming to power and causing World War II.
At the same time, Macron does not mention the failure of 1938 to flatter Hitler by offering Czechoslovakia.
The then French Prime Minister, Eduard Daladier, put his hand to the Munich Agreement, but less than two years later, France won the worst military defeat instead of peace.
Military hospital in Zaporizhia, where wounded Ukrainian soldiers are recovering
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While other Western leaders have visited both Kiev and places in Ukraine where the horrific war crimes committed by the Russians have been revealed after the expulsion of the invaders, Macron has categorically refused such a visit, saying he would visit Ukraine only when it was “useful.”
Zelensky visited Buča, who was affected by the occupiers’ atrocities
