French President Emmanuel Macron credited President Donald Trump for bringing a fresh perspective to the Russia-Ukraine war that could end the conflict by April.
Following a meeting with Trump on Monday focused heavily on the conflict in Eastern Europe, Macron discussed his thoughts on the encounter during an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier.
“I think we have friendship and trust. I think sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree, but we are [having a] very honest discussion. And he knows that I am always very respectful, but I’m always very direct,” Macron said of his relationship with Trump. “I believe I convinced him of the fact that we have to be careful not to have a ceasefire without any guarantee but that true negotiation and full-fledged peace.”
The French president expressed optimism in Trump’s ability to bring a swift end to the war while pressing the White House to negotiate a deal that brings lasting peace to the region, creates a stable Ukraine, and builds a stronger Europe.
“I think the arrival of President Trump is a game changer, and I think he has the deterrence capacity of the U.S. to reengage with Russia, so I think [a ceasefire] is feasible,” Macron said, agreeing with Baier that Trump could end the war within weeks. “I think the initiative of President Trump is a very positive one.”
“I think it’s feasible to have a truce at least and start negotiating for sustainable peace, but we need something substantial, for Ukraine, for the Europeans, and its security and for the U.S. and its credibility,” the French president continued. “Be careful because in 2014 we had a ceasefire with Russia. … It was violated every time by Russia, and we didn’t react, all of us.”
Macron said that because of the “lack of credibility of our collective deterrence,” Putin was emboldened to attack Ukraine in 2022. He urged the Trump administration to work with European allies to “preserve security guarantees, meaning to be sure that this peace could be respected by Russia.”
For conflict to be avoided between Russia and Ukraine long term, Macron suggested European countries need to band together and boost defense spending to present an effective deterrence to Moscow’s wandering eye. Trump has long pressed NATO allies such as France and Germany to increase military expenditures, and the French president said on Special Report that it was in Europe’s best interest to do so.
“We have to do much more,” Macron said. “It’s my job to convince the majority of French people and the majority of parties to step up or enforce, and it’s not because you asked us to do so and have more burden sharing. … Russia is still a threat; it has spent 10% of its GDP on defense and it is close to us.”
“We have to do much more at the European scale. I convened a meeting beginning of this week and we will have the European Council in the days to come. … We will have some special announcements by the commission to increase as well short-term financing … innovative financing to have much more common investment as Europeans. … We have to take our part of the burden and we have to invest much more in our own security, first, to decrease your own burden, but second, because this is our interest,” he said.
The French president also reacted to Trump’s announcement earlier this month that a slew of heavy tariffs could be implemented against France and other European nations, citing a $300 billion deficit in trade. Macron pressed Trump not to enact tariffs on France, arguing that such a move would be detrimental to the European economy and subsequently derail the region’s security.
“Our economies are totally intertwined,” Macron said. ”I think the solution this very moment is not to increase the risk. Why? Because the emergency is to increase our defense and security expenditures. How do you want us to increase security and defense expenditures if we are at a trade war?”
Macron said he believed the White House’s priority was to put tariffs on China and further disclosed he told Trump “You cannot have a trade war with China and Europe at the same time.”
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“I hope I convinced him that’s very important … to have a good, solid, sustainable peace in full transparency,” he said. “We don’t need the trade war. We need more prosperity together.”
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are pushing to have a direct meeting in the coming weeks where further details about a truce are expected to be hammered out.