Washington, February 25 (HS): French President Emmanuel Macron is due to meet Donald Trump in Washington later, the first one-on-one meeting between the pair since the US president re-entered the White House.
Macron said in a social media Q&A that he would warn Trump against appearing weak to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It comes after the US held direct talks with Russia for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to CNN news, French President Macron firmly said that he wants peace, but does not want an agreement that is weak. Also, this peace should not mean the surrender of Ukraine. US President Trump did not mention any security guarantee in the joint press conference. He portrayed himself to reporters as a master negotiator in search of agreements (deals). He told the East Room that he had spoken to President Putin. His entire team is working for peace efforts.
Trump, meanwhile, offered no mention of security guarantees when it was his turn to speak at Monday’s joint news conference. Instead, he portrayed himself as a master negotiator in search of a deal.
Trump said,“I’ve spoken to President Putin, and my people are dealing with him constantly, and his people in particular, and they want to do something,” he said from the East Room. “I mean, that’s what I do. I do deals. My whole life is deals. That’s all I know, is deals. And I know when somebody wants to make it and when somebody doesn’t.
During this, Trump praised Macron for overseeing the rapid reconstruction of Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral after it was almost destroyed by fire. Before the meeting of the two leaders, its resolution has been passed in the United Nations Security Council without the support of America’s European allies. In this resolution, the US has not called Russia an aggressor in the war. Macron tried his best to convince Trump that he should understand the truth of the Russia and Ukraine war.
Trump did voice openness to a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, a plan he’s expected to learn more about later this week when he receives the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He even said he’d discussed the idea with Putin, and that the Russian president was also open to the idea.
Later, Macron described Europeans as acting as an “assurance force” in Ukraine, with Americans acting “in solidarity,” though it was clear the precise contours of the plan still need to be worked out.
Trump also said that he is ready to meet Ukrainian President Zelensky soon to finalize an agreement. Trump made it clear that he would not call Putin a dictator.
Macron tried to convince Trump that Putin has changed since the US President’s last term. He warned that if Ukraine loses, America may look weak in front of its rival i.e. China. It is noteworthy that Starmer is scheduled to meet Trump on Thursday. It is expected that he will inform Trump about the plan to deploy more than 30,000 European peacekeepers in Ukraine.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
