- Polish President Andrzej Duda criticized Macron and Scholz over their contact with Putin.
- In an interview with German media, Duda compared Putin to Hitler during World War II.
- Scholz and Macron have routinely spoke to Putin throughout the ongoing Ukraine war.
Polish President Andrzej Duda criticized his German and French counterparts over their contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin, comparing it to speaking with Adolf Hitler during World War II.
In a recent interview with the German outlet Bild, Duda slammed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron for routinely having one-on-one phone calls with Putin throughout the 15-week-long war in neighboring Ukraine.
"Did anyone speak like this with Adolf Hitler during World War II?" Reuters reported Duda telling Bild. "Did anyone say that Adolf Hitler must save face? That we should proceed in such a way that it is not humiliating for Adolf Hitler? I have not heard such voices."
Duda's remarks came after Macron urged the West not to humiliate Russia and keep diplomacy on the table as Russia's war drags on in a bloody and slow-moving campaign in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
Macron's comments drew criticism from Ukraine, with its foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba writing on Twitter that "calls to avoid humiliation of Russia can only humiliate France and every other country that would call for it."
As the war in Ukraine rages on, Macron has repeatedly suggested that Europe should avoid belittling Putin. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has fervently rejected calls for it to make concessions to Russia in an effort to produce a ceasefire or end the war.
"We want the Russian army to leave our land — we aren't on Russian soil," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month. "We won't help Putin save face by paying with our territory. That would be unjust."
Zelenskyy's comments came after a May 9 speech in which Macron warned Europe to "never give in to the temptation of humiliation" in relation to the war in Ukraine.
The West has put up a remarkably united front against Russia over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, but the approach some leaders have taken to the conflict have raised questions as to how long the solidarity will last. Beyond France, the German government has also faced condemnation over its ongoing communications with Putin, as well as inaction regarding the delivery of weapons to Ukraine.
Indeed, there are growing signs that not all NATO countries are on the same page when it comes to how to deal with Russia. In comments to reporters during a visit to the UK earlier this week, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas warned that European unity is "very hard to keep" as countries contend with the evolving economic consequences of the harsh sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war, per The Guardian.
Kallas also rejected the notion of holding dialogue with Putin. "I do not see any point in talking to him if we want to get the message through that he is isolated and the message that he will not escape unpunished for this and will be held accountable for all the crimes committed," Kallas said.