French President Emmanuel Macron refused to call Russia’s actions in Ukraine a genocide and said that Russians and Ukrainians are “fraternal peoples.”
French President Emmanuel Macron in Russia’s war against Ukraine is trying not to completely destroy the bridges with Moscow. For the sake of this, he refused to call Vladimir Putin a war criminal, the actions of the Russians in Ukraine a genocide, and now, in the spirit of Kremlin propaganda, he began to talk about the “brotherhood” of Ukrainians and Russians.
What are the reasons for such rhetoric?
“appeaser” Macron
Asked if he, like US President Joe Biden, would use the term “genocide” to describe the killing of Ukrainians by the Russian military, Macron said: “I will be careful with such terms today, because these two peoples (Russians and Ukrainians) — brothers.”
“I want to keep trying, as far as I can, to stop this war and restore peace. I’m not sure that the escalation of rhetoric is serving this cause,” he added.
“What we can say with certainty is that the situation is unacceptable and that these are war crimes. We are experiencing war crimes unprecedented on our soil – our European soil,” Macron said.
He also noted France’s cooperation with Ukraine in the investigation of war crimes.
“Russia unilaterally launched an extremely brutal war, it was found that the Russian army committed war crimes, and now we must find those responsible,” Macron said.
Ukraine’s reaction
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in response once again stressed that Ukrainians and Russians are not brothers.
“I did not hear the President of the French Republic. This statement, if true… We don’t lose a single detail. These things are very painful for us. Therefore, I will definitely do my best to discuss this issue with him today or tomorrow,” Zelensky stressed.
Macron’s acquittal
Macron justifies his decision not to use the word “genocide” for Russia’s actions, arguing that “verbal escalation” will not “help Ukraine.”
“The word genocide matters and should be qualified by lawyers, not by politicians,” Macron said during a campaign trip to Le Havre.
According to him, states that consider this a genocide should intervene in accordance with international conventions.
“Is this what people want? I don’t think so,” Macron said, adding that such an intervention would turn them into belligerents.
“Everyone should know how to keep their minds, verbal escalation does not help Ukraine,” he said.
Elections and aid
The election campaign is in full swing in France. The first round has just ended, ahead of the second, in which Macron will face Putin’s girlfriend Marine Le Pen. Given the presence of a pro-Russian electorate in France, Macron would not want to completely turn him away from himself, hence such statements. But, the more the Kremlin talks about the brotherhood between Russians and Ukrainians, the more bombs, artillery shells, cruise and ballistic missiles fly on the heads of Ukrainians. Macron also needs to take this into account in his statements.
Along with soft rhetoric, France has already provided Ukraine with military assistance worth 100 million euros and is planning more supplies.
The communiqué of the French Ministry of Defense clarifies that it is about “means of protection, optical-electronic equipment, weapons and ammunition, weapons systems in accordance with the needs voiced by the Ukrainian side.”
It is noted that this amount is not included in the funds allocated with the European Union from the European Peace Fund. The total amount of funds allocated for Ukraine has already reached 1.5 billion euros, the last package for 500 million was approved on April 13.
“As long as this conflict continues, France is preparing, together with partners, to provide Ukraine with long-term military assistance, supported by the mobilization of our defense industry. It is about putting together what meets the needs of Ukraine and coordinating this assistance with allies and partners … France is determined to help Ukraine resist this aggression and create conditions for a just and lasting peace,” the French Defense Ministry said in a communiqué.
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