French President Emmanuel Macron will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on Monday and take the opportunity to present “proposals for action” to counter the “Russian threat” in Europe and ensure peace in Ukraine.
The leaders will come together just days after Macron told Trump to toughen up and not “be weak” in the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression, as Breitbart News reported.
Macron used a one-hour question and answer session on his social media Thursday to declare he’ll tell his White House counterpart: “You can’t be weak in the face of President Putin. It’s not you, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest. How can you then be credible in the face of China if you’re weak in the face of Putin?”
AFP reports Macron is hoping to persuade Trump when the two leaders meet on the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine to include European leaders in talks between Russia and the United States.
Trump startled Europe when he declared his readiness to resume diplomacy with President Vladimir Putin and to hold talks without the involvement of European nations or Kyiv, saying Europe had three years to work towards a peace plan with Russia and achieved absolutely nothing.
Trump Says Price of Peace May be Fresh Ukrainian Elections, Zelensky Accuses President of ‘Disinformation’https://t.co/TkKyGHu5hC
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 19, 2025
Macron has scrambled to coordinate a European response to Washington’s policy shift, hosting two meetings with key leaders last week. Russia is “an existential threat to Europeans”, he said at the time.
“You have a power that has overly armed itself… and continues to arm itself,” Macron said, before departing for Washington, according to AFP.
“We don’t know where it will stop today. So we must all act to contain it.”
Macron claims to be representing Europe as a whole during his visit, following his meetings with leaders across the continent,
Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is due to visit the White House on Thursday, coordinated on messaging before to the French president’s departure for the United States this weekend.
U.S. and Russia Take ‘First Step’ With ‘Very Useful’ Ukraine War Talks, Agree Trump-Putin Meeting to Comehttps://t.co/26sN5MGiMt
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 18, 2025
The two countries are also discussing the deployment of European forces in Ukraine after a peace agreement is reached, to deter Russia from future attacks.
“The idea is to deploy soldiers to a second line, not on the front line. This could be combined with a multinational operation, with non-European contingents,” said a French source close to the discussions.
Macron and Starmer are expected to ask Trump to provide “solid security guarantees” for the deployed forces.
Meanwhile the European Union on Monday hit Russia with a new round of sanctions aimed at curbing its war effort.
