French President Emmanuel Macron chided President Joe Bidenfor his harsh rhetoric regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a “butcher” who “cannot remain in power.”
“I wouldn’t use this type of wording because I continue to hold discussions with President Putin,” Macron said Sunday on France 3 TV channel. “We want to stop the war that Russia has launched in Ukraine without escalation – that’s the objective.”
Macron went on to say that he wanted to work with Putin to find a way to evacuate civilians out of Mariupol, a city that has seen some of the most vicious attacks since Russia invaded Ukraine just over a month ago.
Earlier this month, Biden made other comments, calling Putin a “murderous dictator, a pure thug who is waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine.”
The Kremlin fired back against Biden on Saturday.
“A state leader should control his temper, nonetheless,” Putin spokesmanDmitry Peskov said in response to Biden’s remarks. “And, of course, each time such personal insults [are uttered, they] narrow the window of opportunity for our bilateral relations under the current [US] administration. It is necessary to be aware of this.”
