PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday warned against verbal “escalation” with Moscow, after US President Joe Biden called Russian leader Vladimir Putin a “butcher” over his invasion of Ukraine.
Macron told broadcaster France 3 that he saw his task as “achieving first a cease-fire and then the total withdrawal of (Russian) troops by diplomatic means.”
“If we want to do that, we can’t escalate either in words or actions.”
Paris has kept diplomatic channels to Moscow open throughout Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders and invasion of its neighbor.
The stance has been criticized by some other leaders and commentators but defended by Macron as vital to limiting damage from the war.
He nevertheless accused Putin Sunday of wanting to return to “a Europe of empires, of domination, without respect for the integrity of borders and nations’ right to decide for themselves.”
Biden’s Saturday remarks were far more muscular, with the US chief executive using a visit to Poland to dub Putin “a butcher” who “cannot remain in power.”
The White House later scrambled to deny he was seeking “regime change” in Moscow, while the Kremlin said Biden’s words could harm bilateral relations.
Macron said that he would call Putin on Monday or Tuesday to discuss a proposal from France, Greece and Turkey to evacuate Ukrainians from besieged port city Mariupol.
“There is a lot of cynicism from the Russian side on this question,” Macron said.
“We’re looking with the Ukrainian authorities in the city of Mariupol at how to organize the evacuation of everyone who wants to flee.”
He added that “we have to do it quickly, in the very next days” given the intensity of combat and bombardments in the city.
France’s Macron fears ‘escalation’ after Biden calls Putin a ‘butcher’
https://arab.news/r7cws
France’s Macron fears ‘escalation’ after Biden calls Putin a ‘butcher’
- The White House later scrambled to deny US leader was seeking ‘regime change’ in Moscow
- Kremlin said Joe Biden’s words could harm bilateral relations
Prabowo, Trump expected to sign Indonesia-US tariff deal in January 2026
- Deal will mean US tariffs on Indonesian products are cut from a threatened 32 percent to 19 percent
- Jakarta committed to scrap tariffs on more than 99 percent of US goods
JAKARTA: Indonesia expects to sign a tariff deal with the US in early 2026 after reaching an agreement on “all substantive issues,” Jakarta's chief negotiator said on Tuesday.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto met with US trade representative Jamieson Greer in Washington this week to finalize an Indonesia-US trade deal, following a series of discussions that took place after the two countries agreed on a framework for negotiations in July.
“All substantive issues laid out in the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade have been agreed upon by the two sides, including both the main and technical issues,” Hartarto said in an online briefing.
Officials from both countries are now working to set up a meeting between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and US President Donald Trump.
It will take place after Indonesian and US technical teams meet in the second week of January for a legal scrubbing, or a final clean-up of an agreement text.
“We are expecting that the upcoming technical process will wrap up in time as scheduled, so that at the end of January 2026 President Prabowo and President Trump can sign the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade,” Hartarto said.
Indonesian trade negotiators have been in “intensive” talks with their Washington counterparts since Trump threatened to levy a 32 percent duty on Indonesian exports.
Under the July framework, US tariffs on Indonesian imports were lowered to 19 percent, with Jakarta committing to measures to balance trade with Washington, including removing tariffs on more than 99 percent of American imports and scrapping all non-tariff barriers facing American companies.
Jakarta also pledged to import $15 billion worth of energy products and $4.5 billion worth of agricultural products such as soybeans, wheat and cotton, from the US.
“Indonesia will also get tariff exemptions on top Indonesian goods, such as palm oil, coffee, cocoa,” Hartarto said.
“This is certainly good news, especially for Indonesian industries directly impacted by the tariff policy, especially labor-intensive sectors that employ around 5 million workers.”
In the past decade, Indonesia has consistently posted trade surpluses with the US, its second-largest export market after China.
From January to October, data from the Indonesian trade ministry showed two-way trade valued at nearly $36.2 billion, with Jakarta posting a $14.9 billion surplus.
