Ukraine’s foreign minister reacted angrily to comments by French President Emmanuel Macron that “we must not humiliate Russia.”
Macron has kept a line of communication open with the Kremlin and flew to Moscow in February in a failed effort to deter Russia from invading Ukraine.
In an interview published Saturday, Macron said in an interview with regional newspapers in France: “We must not humiliate Russia so that the day when the fighting stops we can build an exit ramp through diplomatic means. I am convinced that it is France’s role to be a mediating power.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted Saturday that “calls to avoid humiliation of Russia can only humiliate France and every other country that would call for it. Because it is Russia that humiliates itself. We all better focus on how to put Russia in its place. This will bring peace and save lives.”
Ukrainian officials have been swift to reject any proposals suggesting territory be ceded to Russia as part of peace negotiations. Russia currently occupies about one-fifth of Ukraine.
“I think, and I told [Putin], that he is making a historic and fundamental mistake for his people, for himself and for history,” Macron said in his interview. Macron has not been to Ukraine since the invasion but said he is open to the possibility.
CNN