Washington
Cnn
–
French President Emmanuel Macron attempted on Monday to inject a dose of reality into the ambitions of President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine, insisting that they asked for the same result of peace while warning simultaneously The bad history of Russia to maintain its international commitments.
He has repeatedly stressed the need for security guarantees to ensure that Moscow keeps its promises this time, and has declared that any agreement must be “verified and verified”. And he told his own conversations with Vladimir Putin, saying that he had the value of speaking to the Russian chief but only a position of strength.
“We want peace. He wants peace, “said Macron about his American counterpart when he was standing next to Trump. “We want peace, peace quickly, but we don’t want a weak agreement.”
“This peace should not mean a surrender from Ukraine,” he said.
Trump, on the other hand, said no mention of security guarantees when it was in turn to speak during the joint press conference on Monday. Instead, he presented himself as a master negotiator looking for an agreement.
“I spoke to President Putin, and my people are constantly taking care of him, and his people in particular, and they want to do something,” he said in the eastern room. “I mean, that’s what I’m doing. I make offers. All my life is agreements. That’s all I know, these are offers. And I know when someone wants to get there and when someone doesn’t. “”
Macron had hoped to use his interpersonal relationship of several years with Trump with the press of Europe and Ukraine after a week of serious deterioration in transatlantic links. And men seemed friendly, exchanging kind words and smiles throughout their hours together. Trump provided praise on Macron for supervised the rapid reconstruction of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris after a fire almost destroyed it.
Macron also sought to highlight the areas of agreement. Reiterating a position he has organized for months, he has recognized that Europeans must assume more responsibility for their own security, a position on which the French chief is aligned in principle with Trump.
But their differences were still quite obvious, and at the end of the day, it did not seem that Trump had considerably distant from his positions on whom was responsible for the war of Ukraine or if Europe had done enough to support Kyiv.
While the two leaders met on Monday, a resolution led by the United States did not call Russia the aggressor In the war, he succeeded in the United Nations Security Council with the support of Moscow and without the support of the American European Allies.
And in an extraordinary moment which underlined the tense dynamics of Monday talks between the French and American presidents, Macron tried to correct his American counterpart on the nature of European support for Ukraine, interrupting Trump while he was talking to suggest that he deceived the facts.
“Just for you to understand, Europe lends money to Ukraine. They recover their money, “started Trump as he was preparing to plead in favor of a new agreement to Secure mineral income from Ukraine.
It was at this time that Macron set off to grab Trump’s arm to intervene.
“No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60% of the total effort. It was like the United States: loans, guarantees, subsidies, “he said, while Trump smiles with regret.
Trump opened the opening to a European force for peacekeeping in Ukraine, a plan he should know more later this week when he receives British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He even said that he had discussed the idea with Putin and that the Russian president was also open to the idea.
Later, Macron described Europeans as acting as a “insurance force” in Ukraine, the Americans acting “in solidarity”, although it is clear that the precise contours of the plan must still be developed.
Trump also said he was ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky soon to finalize an agreement that would allow us to access Ukraine mineral income, a development of Macron hosted.
“It seems that we are close closely,” said Trump.
The president was categorical To describe the leader of Ukraine – and reiterated his goal of visiting Moscow at some point in the future.
Even before Trump and Macron sit for their official talks, they had already spent more than two hours together for a virtual meeting in group of 7. The call marking the third anniversary of the Ukraine War.
The G7 meeting came to a tense backdrop. Before the talks, US officials had withstanding inclusion of a reference to “Russian assault” in a declaration of final leaders. Trump also renewed his thrust to allow Russia to join the group, reviving an argument he had in 2019 with Macron and other leaders of the summit that the French president welcomed in Biarritz.
After Monday morning’s meeting, however, the two men suggested that the two -hour virtual summit went well. From the West on foot wing, Macron described the “perfect” talks.
For the French leader, whose complicated history with Trump dates from 2017, Monday meetings were Intended to use what he believes to be a unique relationship with the American president in order to defend the case of Ukraine and Europe.
Macron said a little, hopefully, last week, he thought Trump considered it with high esteem.
“He’s someone I respect,” said Macron, “who I think I respect me.”
How much it counts in Monday talks was not entirely clear.
Before the meeting, Trump deplored what he said to be dull efforts of Macron and Starmer to end the war, insisting that they “did nothing”, despite important contributions from the two countries to Ukraine war efforts.
Macron had already used his position to press Trump on the support of Ukraine, organizing a surprise meeting three in Paris last December with himself, Trump and Zelensky Reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral. Trump was respectful and “in listening mode” at the meeting, said an official, while Zelensky established the need for security guarantees for Ukraine once the war is over.
Macron tried to explain to Trump that Putin had changed since the American president was the last one in office. And he warned that if Ukraine was defeated, the United States could seem weak to its other rivals – namely China.
Two months later, these talks do not seem to have left a lasting impression on Trump, who in last week fumes in Zelensky And suggested that it was Ukraine that sparked the war.
Starmer, who meets Trump on Thursday, should inform his American counterpart on an emerging level aimed at deploying up to 30,000 European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, in the hope of demonstrating Europe’s commitment to assume more The country’s security burden in the future. He can also reveal the date on which he wants the United Kingdom to increase defense expenses to 2.5% of GDP.
This story and this title have been updated with additional developments.