French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to describe Russian actions in Ukraine as “genocide” in a televised interview with France 2. Asked if, like US President Joe Biden, he would use the term “genocide” to kill Ukrainians by the Russian military, Macron said: “I would be careful on such terms today because these two peoples [Russians and Ukrainians] they are brothers. ” “I want to continue to try, as much as I can, to stop this war and rebuild peace. “I am not sure that an escalation of rhetoric serves this cause.” “What we can say for sure is that the situation is unacceptable and that these are war crimes. “We live in war crimes that are unprecedented in our territory – our European territory.” The French president, who is currently running for re-election, also noted France’s co-operation with Ukraine in investigating alleged war crimes. “Russia has unilaterally started an extremely brutal war, it has now been proven that the Russian army has committed war crimes and now we have to find those responsible,” Macron said. Some context: Biden said on Tuesday that the atrocities exposed in Ukraine were being described as genocide, saying “it is becoming increasingly clear that (Russian President Vladimir Putin) is simply trying to eliminate even the idea that he is Ukrainian.” It was a dramatic rhetorical escalation in the US view of what is happening on the ground in Ukraine, which Biden had previously considered war crimes. The US designation has no legal implications, but has significant weight, as Biden seeks to rally countries behind a strategy of isolating and punishing Moscow. Other world leaders, such as Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom and Andrei Duda of Poland, have also used the word “genocide” to describe Russian actions in Ukraine.
