French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday warned President Joe Biden against escalating rhetoric against Russia.
Speaking to broadcaster France 3, Macron said that Biden should avoid an "escalation of words and actions" after Biden delivered a speech in Warsaw on Saturday in which he said Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power" and also characterized Putin as a "butcher" after meeting with Ukrainian refugees.
"I wouldn't use those kinds of terms, because I continue to speak with President Putin," said Macron, who has been part of diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the war with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"We want to stop the war that Russia has launched in Ukraine without waging war and without escalation. This is the objective," Macron added.
Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia also said on Facebook that the next round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia will be held from Monday through Wednesday in Turkey.
Following Biden's comments, the administration said that his remarks about Putin not being able to remain in power were ad-libbed and Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted there is no "strategy of regime change in Russia."
