On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron threw his weight behind Volodymyr Zelensky, the embattled leader of war-torn Ukraine, saying he was elected in a “free system”.
Macron’s statement came after US President Donald Trump described Zelensky as a “dictator.”
“He is a president elected in a free system,” Macron said in a social media question-and-answer session referring to Ukraine’s president.
Macron also launched a scathing attack on Vladimir Putin, alleging that the Russian president has been’manipulating his elections’ for a long time.
“This is not the case for Vladimir Putin, who has been killing his opponents and manipulating his elections for a long time,” Macron said about the Russian president.
The French leader will travel to Washington, DC on Monday to meet with Trump, and he has stated that he will tell his American counterpart not to show weakness to Putin because it will make dealing with China and Iran more difficult.
Donald Trump’s ‘dictator’ remarks for Volodymyr Zelensky
Donald Trump referred to Volodymyr Zelensky as “a dictator without elections” in comments that are sure to complicate efforts to end the war.
Trump lashed out at Zelensky in a social media post that appeared to refer to the fact that Ukraine’s elections were postponed due to the invasion and subsequent imposition of martial law in accordance with the Ukrainian Constitution. Trump suggested Ukraine hold elections.
Zelensky was also called by Trump to be “a modestly successful comedian” for having “talked the United States of America into spending $350 billion, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and ‘TRUMP,’ will never be able to settle.”
The Ukrainian leader was elected to a five-year term in 2019, with elections scheduled for 2024. However, due to the imposition of martial law after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Zelensky postponed the elections until the war’s end.
