Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, mocked French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday for saying the West should avoid humiliating Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Macron made the comment this weekend in an effort to promote diplomacy between the two counties after more than 100 days of war. Though the French president has condemned the invasion and issued support for Ukraine, he has continued dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and stressed the importance of maintaining diplomatic speech.
“We must not humiliate Russia so that the day when the fighting stops we can build an exit ramp through diplomatic means,” he said Saturday, while adding that Putin’s invasion is a “historic and fundamental mistake for his people, for himself and for history.”
However, Macron’s comment was met with pushback from Ukrainian and Western figures, who believe he is being too lenient toward Russia’s aggression.
JULIEN DE ROSA/POOL/AFP/Getty Images
On Sunday, Kinzinger sarcastically wrote on Twitter that Macron is attempting “to make Putin have the ‘feel goodsies.'”
“Ya it’s very important, As @EmmanuelMacron says, to make Putin have the ‘feel goodsies.’ We can’t make him sad, or he may…. Threaten the west over and over and over….,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, in a separate tweet, he added that the French president is “humiliating himself.“
Ya it’s very important, As @EmmanuelMacron says, to make Putin have the “feel goodsies.” We can’t make him sad, or he may…. Threaten the west over and over and over…. https://t.co/YtcLK0jHbJ
— Adam Kinzinger🇺🇦🇺🇸✌️ (@AdamKinzinger) June 5, 2022
Other U.S. lawmakers, including California Democratic Representative Ted Lieu, tweeted that Macron’s speech could make Putin feel more successful and encouraged to continue his attacks on the Eastern European nation.
“This speech by Macron shows a fundamental misunderstanding of Putin and the war in Ukraine. Russia is gaining ground in Ukraine, although slowly. Putin believes he is winning. There are only two ways to stop this war. Let Ukraine lose. Or show Putin he cannot win militarily,” he wrote.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba similarly slammed Macron and warned that Russia must be “put in its place.”
“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,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
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.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) June 4, 2022
Macron’s latest comment echoed previous remarks he made last month, in which he urged for diplomatic negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
“We will have to do this with Ukraine and Russia around the table. The end of the discussion and the negotiation will be set by Ukraine and Russia. But it will not be done in denial, nor in exclusion of each other, nor even in humiliation,” he said, according to European news outlet Euractiv.
