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Emmanuel Macron welcomed a “turning point” in trying to shake Donald Trump in Ukraine, but failed to secure a commitment from the US president to support any setting of European troops to prevent Russia in any post -war solution, according to officials.
The French president, who visited the White House on Monday, will be followed in Washington on Thursday by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who will make a further push for concrete insurance by SH.BA
“There are Europeans who are willing to engage to secure these security guarantees,” Macron said after meeting with Trump. “There is now a clear American message that SH.BA as an ally is ready to provide that solidarity for that approach. This is a turning point in my opinion.”
Starmer has worked with Macron and other European leaders with a proposal to present Trump on Thursday, including possible setting of a “security force” based largely on air strength and supported by the US leaders. And the British coordinate their messages on a call on Sunday, a French official said.
Paris, London and other European capitals have said they are ready to keep most of the post -war security burden in Ukraine. But given their disabilities, they have called for the support of American logistics and intelligence, and ultimately its military protection for the mission to succeed – something Macron and Starmer describes as an American “background” .
Speaking during a press conference at the White House, Macron said Trump had agreed to play such a role.
Earlier during the day, when Trump was asked if European troops would have American support, he said, “We will have some kind support. Of course European countries will be included.” But the US president quickly added that he did not believe that European countries “would need a lot of support” after entrusted to Russia to adhere to any agreement.
A French official said there was no “final agreement” on the nature of US support in Ukraine given that the discussions were in a preliminary stage. But the official added: “There is no opposition from President Trump to Americans who give security guarantees.”
Trump, surprisingly, announced that President Vladimir Putin would accept the presence of European troops in Ukraine, though the Russian leader had not said so publicly. “I have asked that question specifically and he has no problem with him,” Trump said. The Kremlin on Tuesday denied any such concession.
Visits by European Leaders to the White House come in the midst of fear raised in Europe that Trump will rush into a ceasefire with Putin who favors Russia. On Monday, the three-year full-scale Ukrainian occupation anniversary, the US, joined Russia on the UN, refusing to describe Moscow as the aggressor.
The French official said much of the discussion between Trump and Macron was about how to secure Russia stuck in the ceasefire and avoid a repetition of 2015-16, when Moscow failed to respect its obligations under Minsk Agreements to stop fighting in Eastern Ukraine.
European capitals are also concerned that they and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are being left out of negotiations between Russia and the US to end the war. Trump has described Zelenskyy as a “dictator” but not Putin.
Macron walked a great line during his White House visit, avoiding criticism of Trump, hitting jokes and treating the president in a farewell hug.
But Macron also searched Trump’s fact before reporters, opposing Trump’s false claim that the US had given much more help to Ukraine than Europe, or that they were all loans.
“I think the visit was successful in that Macron’s strategy is not to bother Trump in trying to sell him a comprehensive peace arrangement supported by the US,” said Michel Duclos, a former -Diplomat and expert in Montigne Institute in Paris. “He made progress on that front even if Trump remained quite elusive.”
European private diplomats were also largely appreciated by Macron’s performance, but some worried that the French leader believed Trump was more appropriate than it really was.
“He played well. Kind, friendly, but also challenged the false narrative of Ukraine’s financing, ”said one diplomat.
A second concern expressed that Macron “may now be more open to Trump’s ideas in Ukraine, thinking he will be able to run (that).”
Alar Karis, president of Estonia, told Financial Times that for the idea of European troops “some countries are ready, some places are not.” He added: “Transatlantic connection is important for Europe.”
Additional reporting by George Parker in London
