PARIS
\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron said that he intends to tell US counterpart Donald Trump that it\u2019s in the joint interest of Americans and Europeans not to \u201cbe weak\u201d in the face of Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid US-led negotiations to end the nearly three-year war in Ukraine.
\nMacron will travel to Washington to meet with Trump on Monday, the White House said.
\nIn a one-hour question and answer session on social media Thursday, Macron said that he\u2019ll tell Trump: \u201c\u2019You can\u2019t be weak in the face of President Putin. It\u2019s not you, it\u2019s not your trademark, it\u2019s not in your interest. How can you then be credible in the face of China if you\u2019re weak in the face of Putin?\u2019\u201d
\nTrump\u2019s recent statements that echo Putin\u2019s narrative and plans to have direct negotiations with Moscow have left European allies and Ukrainian officials worried. But Macron suggested Trump\u2019s strategy to create \u201cuncertainty\u201d in talks with Russia could actually make Western allies stronger in these talks.
\nPutin \u201cdoesn\u2019t know what he (Trump) is going to do, he thinks (Trump) is capable of anything,\u201d Macron said. \u201cThis uncertainty is good for us and for Ukraine.\u201d
\nMacron said that he would seek to persuade Trump that US interests and Europeans\u2019 interests are the same, telling him: \u201cIf you let Russia take over Ukraine, it would be unstoppable.\u201d
\nThat means any peace deal must be negotiated with Ukrainians and Europeans around the table, Macron said.
\n\u201cWe want peace. But we don\u2019t want a ceasefire that means Ukraine surrendering, because that\u2019s dangerous. And we know that would lead to Russia going further. We\u2019ve already experienced it,\u201d he said.
\nMacron also appeared ready to answer Trump\u2019s call to boost defense spending. \u201cUs, Europeans, we must increase our war effort,\u201d he said.
\nAsked about whether he\u2019s considering sending French troops to Ukraine, he said he wouldn\u2019t send soldiers to fight in Ukraine but rather to be part of a security force meant to bring \u201cguarantees\u201d once a peace deal is achieved.
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t rule out, within a framework planned with our allies, the possibility of having forces which, once peace has been negotiated, could contribute to guaranteeing Ukraine\u2019s security,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS French President Emmanuel Macron said that he intends to tell US counterpart Donald Trump that it\u2019s in the joint interest of Americans and Europeans not to \u201cbe weak\u201d in the face of Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid US-led negotiations to end the nearly three-year war in Ukraine. Macron will travel to Washington to meet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-463032","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n