On Monday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki slammed French President Emmanuel Macron for speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the fighting in Ukraine.
Since Russia invaded on February 24, the US and most other NATO countries have abandoned diplomacy with Putin or other high-level Russian officials. But Macron has maintained a line of communication with Putin, which Morawiecki likened to “negotiating with Hitler.”
“Mr. President Macron, how many times have you negotiated with Putin, what have you achieved? Have you stopped any of the actions that have taken place?” Morawiecki said at a press conference. “One should not negotiate with criminals, one should fight them … Nobody negotiated with Hitler. Would you negotiate with Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot?”
Macron’s office defended the French leader’s approach. “From the onset, the president has used all available means to make Putin stop the war: massive sanctions, support to Ukraine, demands made directly to President Putin during their calls,” a French presidential official said, according to Reuters.
Morawiecki also took a shot at Germany on Monday, calling it the “main roadblock” to adding tougher sanctions on Russia. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also spoken with Putin after Russia invaded Ukraine as Berlin favors negotiations as a way to end the fighting.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that most NATO members were against Germany and France’s approach to Russia and didn’t think negotiations were worth pursuing. In recent comments, President Biden made it clear that he has no interest in diplomacy with Russia as he declared Putin “cannot remain in power.”
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