Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, and Donald Trump met with him at the White House on Monday to discuss Ukraine, European security, and trade.
Macron is the first European leader to travel to him since January 20 when he first began his second term. He has established a friendly relationship with Trump. The French leader’s visit came at a time when Europe and the US are in increasing public conflict, particularly over Ukraine’s future and its security.
Here are some key takeaways from the Trump-Macron talks.
Despite friendship, Macron not afraid to challenge Trump
Trump and Macron developed a warm relationship during Trump’s first term, often making headlines for their exuberant displays of affection, including long handshakes, embraces and back-slapping.
On Monday, the leaders kept to a friendly attitude, offering compliments and holding hands as they exchanged views.
In the Oval Office, Trump declared, “President Macron is a very special man in my book.”
Macron continued to speak up against Trump during a press conference on pressing issues like the Ukraine war and trade policy despite the friendly exchange.
Macron argued that a weak agreement or Ukraine’s “surrender” should not be the only factor in ending the conflict in Ukraine, which Trump has suggested might require that Ukraine cede territory.
Macron said that “this peace must allow for Ukrainian sovereignty and allow for negotiations with other parties.”
The French leader also made the unusual move of interjecting Trump halfway through his speech, making false claims that the US president was merely lending Ukraine money to fight its war effort in an effort to get it repaid.
“No, in fact, to be frank”, said Macron, placing a hand on Trump’s arm to interrupt him, “we paid 60 percent of the total effort and it was – like the US – loans, guarantees, grants”.
Trump, flashing a smile, responded: “If you believe that, it’s ok with me”.
Macron also addressed Trump’s threat to impose enormous tariffs on the delicate trade between the US and the European Union. Macron called for “fair competition” that could lead to more investment.
“We want to have more prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic”, said Macron. “We have a shared agenda in that regard”.
Macron hammered home his message that the US should cooperate, not antagonise, Europe economically during a Fox News interview, saying the US “cannot have a trade war with China and Europe at the same time”.
Macron, a long-time friend of Trump, claimed that his dealing with him demonstrated how effective he is at handling the president.
No world leader can handle both Macron and Trump. When he believes something is wrong, he is polite but firm, and tolerant but not afraid to challenge him. And Trump thanks him for it,” Morgan wrote in an X-ray post.
No world leader can handle both Macron and Trump. When he believes something is wrong, he is polite but firm, and tolerant but not afraid to challenge him. Trump also shows him respect for it. https://t.co/88GlEap9Ib
Macron agrees that security should be improved in Europe.
Macron acknowledged Trump’s long-standing concerns that the US is a significant contributor to Europe’s security, including with regard to Ukraine, while pressing him for any peace deal to be fair to Ukraine.
Macron remarked that “European nations must do more to more fairly share the security burden that your nation has been carrying for many years.”
As part of any potential peace agreement, the two leaders agreed that a European peacekeeping force could be deployed to Ukraine, a requirement that Trump said Putin would also accept.
“They wouldn’t be on the front lines,” he added. They would not be part of any conflict. They would be there to ensure that the peace is respected”, Macron said of the force.
However, Macron said it was vital for the US to offer “backup” for such a coalition.
Trump signed a mineral deal with Ukraine
Trump has been pressing Ukraine to cede control of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of its rare minerals, a request that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has so far rejected.
Speaking alongside Macron, Trump stated that the US is “getting very close” to finalising such an agreement, insisting it would ultimately “get its money back” over time.
Macron reacted cautiously to the agreement, noting that he anticipated Trump’s “signing a deal on rare earth minerals” and that France was pleased to see “this very strong American involvement.”
Anatol Lieven, the director of the Eurasia programme at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told Al Jazeera he believes the US demand for Ukraine’s rare minerals is “predatory”.
“Trump is asking for much more than America gave”, Lieven said of the US assistance. “And it was not a loan. It was a gift, which was seen to be in America’s own security interest. So this approach is wholly illegitimate.
” That said, perhaps something can be negotiated, which is more reasonable, “he added.
Differing perspectives on Russia’s Putin
Vladimir Putin, who Trump has sought rapprochement with, and whom he hopes to meet, was the subject of the Trump-Macron meeting, which highlighted the leaders’ divergent opinions on the two leaders.
When a reporter asked Trump if he views Putin as a” dictator “in the same way he labelled Ukraine’s Zelenskyy last week, Trump responded:” I don’t use those words lightly. We’ll have to wait and see how it all turns out, I believe. Let’s see what happens. “
Macron, on the other hand, clearly pinned Russia as” the aggressor “in the ongoing war and claimed that” Putin violated the peace. Trump claimed Ukraine was the start-up of the war last week.
Source: Aljazeera
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