French foreign minister calls Putin ‘dictator’

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “dictator” Thursday in a scathing attack for reneging on his commitment not to launch a military intervention against Ukraine.

Responding to a question on whether Paris felt deceived by Putin’s abrupt change of stance, Le Drian told TF1 Info news they were aware of the massive risks.

“We knew that there was an accumulation of forces on the borders in Ukraine. We knew that there were all the risks of a massive offensive, which has just taken place, and that is precisely why we went to Putin, to avoid war.”

However, despite agreeing with French President Emmanuel Macron to de-escalate tensions through political and diplomatic negotiations, the Kremlin had "violated Russia’s signature because the actions taken are in breach of the commitments” to the international treaties.

By choosing to strike militarily, Putin trampled upon the 1990 Charter of Paris for New Europe signed in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union and has ensured stability on the continent and the 2015 Minsk agreements, he said.

“He also turned back on the personal commitment (made to Macron)...He is a cynic and a dictator,” Le Drian said.