Emmanuel Macron will challenge Donald Trump to stand up to Russia in peace talks on Ukraine when he visits Washington next week.

The French president said it was his role to “convince” Mr Trump that “his interests are the same as ours, whatever he thinks”, in his first public comments since the US president called Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator.

“I’m going to tell him that he can’t be weak in the face of Vladimir Putin,” he said.

Mr Macron will be the first European leader to hold talks at the White House on Monday – ahead of Sir Keir Starmer, who meets Mr Trump on Thursday.

Mr Macron’s intervention puts Sir Keir in a difficult position, under pressure to be more robust in his dealings with the US president. So far, the Prime Minister has attempted to position himself as a “bridge” between Europe and Washington by refusing to publicly challenge Mr Trump over his criticisms of Ukraine.

On Thursday night, Mr Macron told a Q&A of his social media followers: “I know Donald Trump, for four years we were in charge, he is someone I respect, who respects me.

“The situation is worrying, but not because President Trump wants to negotiate. We have to make him understand that his interests are the same as ours. I’m going to tell him that he can’t be weak in the face of Putin when he’ll have to face China next. That’s not you, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest. It would be a huge strategic mistake.

“How can we explain that China doesn’t have the right to invade Taiwan when Russia is doing the same with Ukraine?”