After US President Joe Biden dubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin a "butcher" over his invasion of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron advised against linguistic "escalation" with Moscow on Sunday.
Macron told France 3 that his goal was to "achieve first a ceasefire, then a comprehensive evacuation of (Russian) soldiers through diplomatic methods."
We can't escalate in words or acts if we wish to do it."
Throughout Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's borders and invasion of its neighbor, Paris has maintained diplomatic relations with Moscow.
Some other politicians and analysts have criticized Macron's attitude, but he has defended it as necessary for limiting the war's harm.
Nonetheless, on Sunday, he accused Putin of attempting to return to "a Europe of empires, of dominance, without respect for the integrity of boundaries and the sovereignty of states to decide for themselves."
Biden's Saturday words were significantly more forceful, with the US president referring to Putin as a "butcher" who "cannot remain in power" during a visit to Poland.
Later, the White House scrambled to deny he was attempting "regime change."
Macron said he would phone Putin on Monday or Tuesday to discuss a plan put forward by France, Greece, and Turkey to evacuate Ukrainians from Mariupol, which is under siege.
"On this issue, there is a lot of cynicism on the Russian side," Macron added.
"We're discussing how to organize the evacuation of everyone who wants to evacuate with the Ukrainian authorities in Mariupol."
Given the intensity of warfare and bombardments in the city, he warned, "we have to accomplish it swiftly, in the very next days."AC
