Tense exchanges between Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump over military funding to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke at a press conference in the United States after his private meeting with Donald Trump and said that “this peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine or a ceasefire without guarantees and allowing Ukrainian sovereignty to negotiate with other interested parties on the issues that affect it.”

The French head of state became the first European to visit the Republican tycoon in the White House, in a scenario of extreme tension with the host against the "Old Continent" and in favor of Russia .

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"First, a truce is needed. I think that could be reached in the coming weeks," Macron said in an interview with Fox News after a meeting with the US president at the White House, stressing that "many of my European colleagues are ready to participate."

Trump and Macron's talks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for peace "this year" while meeting European leaders in kyiv, amid growing fears that Trump is shifting toward Russia's stance.

Donald Trump: “The cost and burden of securing peace must be borne by the nations of Europe, not just the United States”

Although both leaders expressed their firm conviction to end the war, Donald Trump referred to the military funding provided throughout the war with Russia and took a shot at his French counterpart, emphasizing that “I am pleased that Macron agrees that the cost and burden of ensuring peace must be borne by the nations of Europe, not just by the United States .”

He then reiterated that “Europe must take on this central role in ensuring Ukraine’s long-term security, which is what they want to do.”

Since his return to the White House, he has not stopped criticizing the top representatives of the European Union and has considered that their military spending is "insufficient."

For his part, Emmanuel Macron expressed his strong disagreement with the accusation launched by the Republican leader and replied that “no, actually, to be frank, we have paid. We have paid 60% of the total effort” , placing his hand on Trump's forearm.

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Macron understood that Donald Trump sees diplomatic relations as a trade negotiation and explained that his objective is “to try to achieve something first that can be evaluated, tested and verified” and asked the American president: “Let us make sure to create guarantees in the short term.”

Emmanuel Macron: “Being strong and having the capacity to deter is the only way to be sure that an agreement will be respected”

“Being strong and having the capacity to deter is the only way to be sure that an agreement will be respected,” insisted Macron, who later in a conciliatory tone assured that “the United States has the capacity to do so.”

Trump said Putin "wants to end this war" and Macron anticipated a truce in a few weeks

French government chief Emmanuel Macron said: “We need this American support, because it is part of the credibility of security guarantees and this is our collective deterrence capacity.”

P.M