Emmanuel Macron on the Importance of Words: 'We Must Be Very Careful'

French President Emmanuel Macron explained in an interview with France Bleu his reluctance to label Russia's actions in Ukraine as "genocide." The French leader noted that "verbal escalation" will not help to stop the war.

"Words are important, and we all need to be very careful because my role is clearly to build peace, to stop this war, to avoid escalation at all costs, and to protect French men and women," said Macron.

According to him, the definition of genocide should be left to lawyers, not politicians. "The term genocide should be defined by lawyers today, not by politicians... Those countries that consider this genocide should intervene according to international treaties, but does the public want that? I don’t think so... Everyone must be able to maintain sobriety. Verbal escalation, without considering all consequences, will not help Ukraine," the politician emphasized.

It is worth mentioning that in an interview with France 2 on April 13, Macron also refused to call Russia's actions in Ukraine "genocide," noting that the Russian and Ukrainian peoples are "brotherly." Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden had stated earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin was committing "genocide" in Ukraine.