The central themes of the meeting between Putin and Macron 1:06
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Frida Ghitis, (@fridaghitis) a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist.
She is a weekly opinion contributor for CNN, a columnist for The Washington Post, and a columnist for the World Politics Review.
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(CNN) --
With Russian troops building up on Ukraine's borders, the United States and its allies are scrambling to find the right formula to communicate to Russian President Vladimir Putin their determination to avoid war, and dissuade him from launching an invasion. .
But what is the best language to use with autocrats?
Putin offered an uncomfortable glimpse into the strongman's lexicon during a news conference with his French counterpart in Moscow this week.
In his speech alongside President Emmanuel Macron, Putin was asked about the Minsk accords, the 2015 accords that sought to bring about a ceasefire between Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine and the government.
Ukraine's government, Putin noted, does not like the deal.
"Whether you like it or not," Putin said, "it is your duty, my beauty."
The saying, as Russian journalists told Putin's spokesman the next day, has well-known sexual connotations.
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, predictably denied involvement, and Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelensky tried to mix humor with shock when asked by journalists about the offending comment.
He said: "Ukraine is a beauty", but the "my" is an "exaggeration", which means that it does not belong to Russia or Putin.
ANALYSIS |
Putin's vulgar language reveals a lot about his view of the world
Putin's salty and intimidating language is nothing new.
His harsh language, the autocrat's calling card, is also an emblem of his populist good faith.
This is the leader who once promised to trap Chechen terrorists in the toilet and "eliminate them right there."
However, Putin's words are only part of his playbook.
Among autocratic leaders, the display of power and intimidation is a key tactic.
We have seen it many times, in many forms.
French President Emmanuel Macron's long-awaited meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday at an even longer table.
On Monday, that ridiculously long table separating Putin from Macron during talks in the Kremlin may have seemed like protection against the pandemic, but physical distance wasn't necessary;
It is very likely that Macron was tested for covid-19 before meeting with the president of Russia.
Indeed, Putin seemed to have no qualms about siding with China's Xi Jinping last week in Beijing.
Distance is a symbol of, well, distance.
"Emmanuel, you are not my friend," he would say;
unlike Xi.
As Macron no doubt knows, when it comes to a country ruled by an autocrat, the only thing that matters is the relationship with the leader.
Macron has tried to persuade former US President Donald Trump before, first with subtleties and then with a show of his strength.
Who can forget that strange Macron-Trump handshake of 2017;
the two males trying to impress each other?
Macron's visit to Moscow this week produced humiliation... at least so far.
Following the talks, France announced that Putin had agreed to refrain from further military exercises near Ukraine for the time being.
Later, the Kremlin's Peskov said that he had no idea what the French were talking about;
a slap in the face of Macron.
Russian President Vladimir Putin pets his dog during a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Sochi, 2007.
Putin's shows of force with European leaders have occasionally been cruder, though sometimes less consequential.
In a 2007 meeting with then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel at her Sochi summer home, he released her large black Labrador retriever.
Merkel is said to be afraid of dogs.
One photograph captures Putin smiling as Merkel tries to keep her terror, and perhaps her anger, in check.
The substance of the relationships, of course, matters.
But in an autocracy, politics becomes hyper-personalized.
In her book "There's Nothing for You Here," Fiona Hill, the top official for Trump's Russia policy on the National Security Council, wrote that Putin essentially invented the modern style of leadership " personalized and courageous" that other leaders with autocratic tendencies, including Trump, tried to emulate.
Since negotiating successfully with the US required winning Trump's good graces, Hill recalls, foreign officials tried to shower Trump with exaggerated praise.
He says his office "closely followed" efforts to flatter the president because of his foreign policy implications.
Trump's first trip abroad, to Saudi Arabia in 2017, had a surreal reception, with a four-story-high image of Trump's face projected onto the side of Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton hotel.
The flattery seemed to pay off in politics.
Just after Trump left the kingdom, Saudi Arabia led a boycott of Qatar, which is home to a major US military base.
Trump sided with the Saudis.
The seemingly endless handshake between US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of a NATO summit in 2017.
Populist autocrats can impress their autocratic counterparts.
Trump frequently expressed his admiration for Putin and even his envy of other all-powerful autocrats.
But no matter how much admiration he inspired among certain people, his autocratic leadership style is detrimental to his country.
As Hill points out, "Custom leadership tilts the playing field away from good governance...towards corruption and nepotism."
Russia clearly shows this and other evils of autocracy.
Still, the world must adjust its methods of dealing with Putin.
His trading style has been endlessly scrutinized.
Putin does not seem particularly vulnerable to praise.
However, like other strong men, he respects strength, but a few minutes' handshake from Macron will not be enough.
The current standoff over NATO, and over the ability of Russia's neighbors to determine their own future, will require determination, unity, and a clear memory of the lessons of the past.
Macho energy is not a requirement, as Merkel demonstrated in her role as Europe's chief negotiator.
Above all, this moment demands an understanding that the world is facing an authoritarian leader used to bullying and intimidating.
In the end, it is not so much that Russia stands up to Ukraine or the West, but that it is its authoritarian president.
The West is looking for the right language because this, as Russia's neighbors and the rest of the world know, is Putin's show.
Vladimir Putin
