French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he plans to tell U.S. President Donald Trump that it is in the mutual best interest of both the U.S. and Europe not to show weakness when confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin during ongoing U.S.-led discussions aimed at resolving the nearly three-year-long conflict in Ukraine.
Macron is scheduled to visit Washington to meet with Trump on Monday, according to the White House.
During a one-hour social media Q&A session on Thursday, Macron explained that he intends to tell Trump, “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?”
Trump’s recent remarks, which align with Putin’s viewpoints, along with his plans to negotiate directly with Moscow, have caused concern among European allies and Ukrainian leaders. However, Macron suggested that Trump’s approach to create “uncertainty” in his dealings with Russia could potentially strengthen Western allies during these talks.
Putin “doesn’t know what [Trump] is going to do, he thinks [Trump] is capable of anything,” Macron stated. “This uncertainty is good for us and for Ukraine.”
Macron expressed his intention to convince Trump that the interests of the U.S. and Europe are aligned, adding, “If you let Russia take over Ukraine, it would be unstoppable.”
Macron emphasized that any peace agreement must involve both Ukrainians and Europeans, asserting, “We want peace. But we don’t want a ceasefire that means Ukraine surrendering, because that’s dangerous. And we know that would lead to Russia going further. We’ve already experienced it.”
The French president also appeared ready to respond to Trump’s request for increased defense spending. “Us, Europeans, we must increase our war effort,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of sending French troops to Ukraine, Macron clarified that he would not send soldiers to engage in combat in Ukraine, but instead would contribute to a security force designed to provide “guarantees” after a peace agreement is reached.
“We don’t 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’s security,” he explained.
{Matzav.com}
To get this straight, frenchy is telling the president of the United States not to be weak with somebody? Does anyone remember what the color of the French flag is?
Hint it’s all white! They’re always surrendering!
It’s so nice to see that France has their finger on the pulse of foreign policy. It’s almost as pathetic as it was in WWII