Macron wants US, Trump to back any European troop deployment in Ukraine

Emmanuel Macron insisted peace could not mean the ‘surrender’ of Ukraine, as Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin was willing to accept the presence of European peacekeepers to end the war.

Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Donald Trump at the end of a joint press conference in the White House. Picture: AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday supported Donald Trump’s outreach to Russia over Ukraine but called on the US to back any European troop deployment as a form of security guarantee.

On the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, Trump said the war could end “in weeks” and that Vladimir Putin was willing to accept the presence of European peacekeepers to ensure it did.

“Yeah, he will accept that. I’ve asked him that question,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

Macron told a joint news conference at the White House that “we want a quick deal but not a fragile one”.

Macron flew to Moscow weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago in an unsuccessful bid to dissuade Russian President Vladimir Putin. Like then US president Joe Biden, Macron soon cut off contact with Putin.

Macron said there was “a big change” in that there was a new US administration. “There is good reason for President Trump to re-engage with President Putin,” Macron said.

But Macron said he shared Europe’s own experience in negotiating after an earlier conflict in Ukraine a decade ago.

“In 2014, our predecessors negotiated peace with President Putin, but because of the lack of guarantees and especially security guarantees President Putin violated this peace,” Macron said.

“So this is why being strong and having deterrence capacities is the only way to be sure it will be respected.”

Macron, who has mulled sending French troops to Ukraine to preserve any peace, said it was critical for the United States to offer support.

“A lot of my European colleagues are ready to be engaged, but we do need this American backup, because this is part of the credibility of the security guarantees,” he said.

Trump and Biden both ruled out sending US troops to Ukraine, and Trump has pressed for Kyiv to sign a deal to hand over mineral wealth to the United States.

Macron said: “I think we should never say I will never send boots on the ground, because you give a blank cheque to violate any type of commitment.”

Macron and Trump in the Oval Office of the White House. Picture: AFP

Macron corrects Trump over Ukraine funding

At one point, Macron attempted to correct Trump over details of European support for Ukraine during their Oval Office talks, interrupting the President as he spoke to note he was misstating the facts.

It was a subtle but extraordinary moment during the chat in front of the world’s media.

“Just so you understand, Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They’re getting their money back,” Trump began as he was preparing to make the case for a new deal to secure Ukraine’s mineral revenues as back-payment for American assistance.

Macron reached over to grab Trump’s arm to interject.

“No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60 per cent of the total effort. It was like the US: loans, guarantees, grants,” he said.

“We have $230 billion in frozen assets in Europe, Russian assets. But this is not collateral of a loan because it is not our belonging. So they are frozen.”

Trump seemed to shrug off the interjection: “If you believe that, it’s OK with me. They get their money back, and we don’t. But now we do.”

Macron, Trump look to smooth relations

Macron and Trump sought to publicly calm a transatlantic rift over Ukraine, with the US President eyeing a deal to end Russia’s invasion backed by European peacekeepers.

Trump also said he expected Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky to visit this week or next, to sign a deal giving Washington access to Kyiv’s minerals.

Trump hailed Macron as a “very special man” as they shared one of their trademark macho handshakes in the Oval Office — with the French President seeking to use his ties with Trump to shore up support for Ukraine.

“I think we could end it within weeks — if we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it will keep going,” Trump said.

The US President added that Putin was ready to “accept” European troops deployed in Ukraine as guarantors of a deal to end fighting.

Both Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — who is visiting the White House on Thursday — have said their countries are ready to contribute peacekeeping troops in Ukraine if there is a deal.

‘Cannot be weak’

The friendly tone of the Oval Office meeting came despite many European nations fearing that Trump’s recent embrace of Russian talking points on Ukraine could herald the end of the 80-year-old transatlantic alliance.

Trump sent shockwaves around the world when he declared his readiness to resume diplomacy with Russia and to hold talks about the future of Ukraine without the involvement of European allies or Kyiv.

It sent European leaders beating a path to Trump’s door, led by Macron. The two leaders earlier Monday dialled in together from the Oval Office to a call with the heads of the G7 leading economies and Zelensky.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The French President last week said he would tell the Republican: “You cannot be weak in the face of President Putin.”

Trump had hit back last Friday saying that both Macron and Starmer — the leaders of Europe’s two nuclear powers — had done “nothing” to try to end the Ukraine war over the past three years.

In recent days Macron has tried to co-ordinate a European response to Washington’s sudden policy shift.

At their meeting, the French leader would present his “proposals for action” to counter the “Russian threat,” an adviser to the president said. They will also hold a joint press conference.

Macron is representing the European Union as a whole during his visit, after meeting leaders across the continent, including Moscow-friendly Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the presidential adviser said.

The French leader aims to persuade Trump to continue some US support for Ukraine, respecting its sovereignty.

US President Donald Trump welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House in Washington DC.

‘Security guarantees’

Macron and Starmer, who will visit Trump on Thursday, co-ordinated on messaging prior to the French President’s departure for the United States this weekend.

Britain and France have also discussed 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, and possibly logistics or intelligence.

US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told reporters on Monday that “we expect to talk quite a bit about the security guarantees that Macron has put on the table.”

Trump and Macron would also discuss the thorny issue of trade with the European Union, with the US President threatening sweeping tariffs against the bloc, said Waltz.

AFP