French President Emmanuel Macron has come under fresh criticism for again warning the West against “humiliating” Russia and calling for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine.
“We must not humiliate Russia so that the day when the fighting stops we can build an exit ramp through diplomatic means,” Macron said Friday. He added that he believes France should be a “mediating power.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba replied to the French leader’s comments on Twitter. “Calls to avoid humiliation of Russia can only humiliate France and every other country that would call for it,” Kuleba wrote.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), an ultra-hawk who has repeatedly called for direct US military intervention in Ukraine to establish a no-fly zone, made a similar critique of Macron. “Emmanuel Macron is humiliating himself,” Kinzinger said on Saturday. “Russia has already been humiliated, and true to their reputation the French are trying to raise the white flag.”
Macron is not the only European leader that has been calling for a negotiated solution to end the fighting in Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi have also been pushing for talks. Together, France, Germany, and Italy represent the three most populous EU nations.
But other NATO nations favor a much more hawkish stance and have actively discouraged diplomacy with Moscow, including the US, Britain, the Baltic states, and many Eastern European countries. US and NATO officials have said that they expect to support Ukraine in its war against Russia for a long time and hope to see Moscow suffer a defeat.
“US and NATO officials have said that they expect to support Ukraine in its war against Russia for a long time and hope to see Moscow suffer a defeat.” — so a long destructive war in which people across the ocean suffer, far far from the Western Hemisphere (of course Americans suffer economically, but never mind that) AND we hope for regime change. Always ends so well.
One of the first products of wars is always reckless financing. Consider this: Biden’s first tranche for Zelenski was $40 billion. The second tranche is $80 billion. In 2020 Ukraine’s GDP was $155.58 billion. Every dollar “loaned” to Ukraine is collected from US taxpayers and cannot ever be re-payed [1]. At the end of this war the Ukraine, regardless of its outcome, will become the forever-ward of our dollar printers.
[1] If Russia “loses” we may experience a repeat of 1919/20 that is to say a NATO-dominated Peace Congress will order Russia to pay for our loans plus all of the reconstruction in Ukraine but France will be against.
This has nothing to do with the hapless Eurocrats and their oversees patron dreamed up ability of “humiliating” Russia that started this war, its obviously the other way around, what we can see right now: These pompous toads being humiliated in the ukraine on a scale they couldn’t have imagined.
Micron is butthurt and is speaking for his US masters desire to soften the fall of Russia taking out the best Nato trained army there was and the latest military equipment US could throw in. But Russia won’t listen and will go on grinding their ambitions down in the ukie dirt until they’re finished.
Not sure about that last. Russia’s is not a narrow manic soul; but more Solzhenitsyn than Lenin, no?
Yes, and I understand that Solzhenitsyn and Putin were good friends.
Wow! thanks, That takes it to another level.
And Lenin was not manic when he switched from pure socialism to the NEP.
Too late for that. France as well as all other Western states cherished the role of dispensing humiliations, ridicule. Indulged in supporting each other’s ridicous claims — Skripal “poisoning” , shooting down plane, state doping charges, Navalny poisoning, Syria never ending accussations while supporting and arming terroriists.
Too late. Many in Russia are blaming Putin for reacting too cautiously and too late.
Medvedev is the one to watch. Calling Western leaders bastards, degenerates and geeks hellbent on destroying Russia, salivating over getting grabby hands on Russia’s resources.
The era of post-Cold war humiliation is over. We still folow old paradigm. Russia is supposed to be halpy when superiour beings consider — not humiliating them.
Bismarck once said that Russian are slow to harness – but fast to ride. Horseman of the apocalypse are well on their way, as Medvedev said. May God belp us.
Thanks, Bianca, I needed that. Always holding up your side of the dialectic. But is Russia the only honest man? … all the rest Nazis, real or intimidated? …surely Victor Orban?
Macron, Sholz, and Draghi can try their level best. But Nuland, Blinken and Zionists behind them will carry forward with what they want. Americans and Europeans will suffer
i think that russia will survive the indignity of being “humiliated”
Macron, Scholz etc. made a mistake early on and supported the one sided narrative building of the USUK and their Baltic and Ukrainian lap dogs and now they are stuck. Their own populations are utterly propagandized and demand more and more.
They need to let things cool off, allow their citizens to note there are costs to these crazy war demands, and in the meantime try to remind the Ukrainians that this war will pass and that burning all your bridges is a bad way to be a neighbor.
Rather than be forced to admit that Russia will likely prevail both militarily and economically, Macron suggests that NATO stop trying to humiliate Russia. That language might be seen as an attempt to allow the hawks within NATO to save face.
The gamble has, in my opinion, failed. Russia’s economy has not collapsed. Russia’s military seems likely to prevail on the battlefield. Efforts to coerce cooperation in Asia, South America, and Africa are being rebuffed and may, in fact, be causing a permanent realignment that is not in Europe’s best interests.
It’s time to regroup. I suspect that everybody knows that.
Very nice. Macron’s training in hermeneutics could prove valuable were he ever to rouse his gallic soul.
It might be good for Europe to face some hardship. Nuclear power plants will have to spring up, unless that wild plan to build wind turbines in distant Greenland goes through, seems unlikely.
Europe currently has a super low birthrate, high immigration, low religiosity, no gun and speech rights. Some hardship might improve things.
Domestic Russian complaints about the maltreatment and lack of preparation among Russian combat forces are likely prompting the Kremlin to take rhetorical steps to curb discontent
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated that new conscripts during the summer training period will be trained with specific attention to lessons learned so far in Ukraine during a meeting with the National Defense Management Center (NDCC) (the supreme command center of the Russian Armed Forces and Defense Ministry) on June 7.
Shoigu added that summer conscripts will learn battlefield first aid, likely responding to criticisms by members of the Russian military community of poor tactics and lack of first aid acumen among Russian soldiers.
However, the Russian military is unlikely to properly train and equip Russian conscripts rushed to the front as replacements and likely primarily seeks to mollify public discontent. In essence they will be used as cannon fodder.
Former DNR Security Minister and milblogger Alexander Khodakovsky claimed that he asked the DNR military command to move exhausted and demoralized proxy conscripts to auxiliary tasks away from the line of contact but to no avail.
Instead of spending time and money on training and equipment, they should just pull their troops out of Ukraine. Problem solved… but I’m sure ‘antiwar’ Putin lovers here will disagree with me.
They are a bloodthirsty bunch indeed for being antiwar…
I sympathize. But Minsk 2 was the solution. Had the US not contributed $1.9 billion to undermine it (this was before the invasion), Ukraine would be at peace. Now it’s too late.
Are you a writer for the “Onion”? All your comments seem to belong on Saturday Night Live….
ROFL
Bravo Macron! We need people with some real sense in leadership.
Let’s face it, the Ukrainians are not gonna win this war, nor do they really to. The Donabas and Crimea matter a whole lot more to Russia than it does to Ukraine. It’s time for real negotiations not more killing.
There will be no peace settlement – ever. And the humiliation of the US and NATO has only just begun. Ukraine is just the first step. The real humiliation comes later.
In 2020 Russia was the world’s largest exporter of fertilizer. China was the second largest. The largest importers of Russian fertilizer in 2020 was Brazil, then, surprise, surprise, our country. India was the largest importer of Chinese fertilizer.
When you hinder or worse, destroy this trade some of the world will be in big trouble food-wise.
It is a reasonable idea, poorly expressed. You want to build your opponent a golden bridge which he can retreat over. So humiliation as a goal is counter productive.