Pentagon on Macron: Focus should be on Putin when talking ‘escalatory rhetoric’

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Thursday that when discussing Russia’s brutal actions in Ukraine, the focus should stay on President Vladimir Putin.

Kirby was responding to a question about French President Emmanuel Macron declining to follow the lead of President Biden in referring to the killings of Ukrainians as “genocide.”

In an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Kirby was asked by host Brian Kilmeade about Macron’s comment that “an escalation of rhetoric” is harmful.

“Well look, with all respect to President Macron, I’ll let him speak for himself just like President Biden speaks for himself and for — and for our government,” he said.

“When we’re talking about escalatory rhetoric, let’s talk about Vladimir Putin,” Kirby added.

“Let’s talk about a guy who said he didn’t believe that Ukraine was even a sovereign state or that the Ukrainian people even had the right to govern themselves. Let’s talk about a guy who actually hinted in the early days of this war the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons. Let’s talk about a guy who has used and has talked about the potential use of biological and chemical weapons inside Ukraine.” 

“If we’re going to talk about escalatory rhetoric I’d prefer that we focus it on the man who is actually the one using it,” Kirby said. 

Macron said Wednesday that his goal is to “stop this war and rebuild peace,” opting not to use the term “genocide” in order to avoid escalation with Russia. However, he called the Kremlin’s actions “war crimes” following the trend of Western allies. 

Macron’s comments came after Biden referred to Putin’s actions as genocide during a stop the White House made to promote rural infrastructure.

“I’m doing everything within my power by executive orders to bring down the price and address the Putin price hike,” he told an audience in Menlo, Iowa.

“Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away,” Biden said.

The Kremlin, however, has rejected the claims of genocide in Ukraine and said the U.S. president’s comments were “unacceptable.” 

Reports on the deaths of civilians in Ukraine amid Russia’s bloody invasion of the country continue to grow.

The United Nations estimates say that nearly 2,000 civilians have been killed, while the mayor of Mariupol this week claimed that 10,000 had died in his city alone.