French President Emmanuel Macron arrived at the White House on Monday to join President Trump for a call with the heads of the Group of Seven nations to discuss ending Russia’s war on Ukraine and the future of U.S. relations with Europe.
Mr. Macron did not take questions as he entered the West Wing along with his delegation. Monica Crowley, White House chief of protocol, greeted the French president upon his arrival.
The high-stakes call with the leaders of the world’s seven largest countries comes after Mr. Trump rattled Europe with his harsh criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mr. Trump blasted his Ukraine counterpart for failing to negotiate an end to the war, accused him of being an unpopular leader who owes his political survival to the U.S. “gravy train” of foreign aid and suggested Ukraine is to blame for starting the war with Russia.
Mr. Trump also vented frustration that Mr. Zelenskyy has rebuffed the original deal giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s valuable mineral deposits, many of which have applications in the aerospace, medical and tech industries. The two countries are still negotiating on a possible pact.
European leaders have been dismayed by the criticism of Mr. Zelenskyy, as well as Mr. Trump’s decision to engage in political talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian or European leaders at the table.
Mr. Trump has dismissed criticism from European leaders saying that Ukraine has been negotiating “with no cards.”
Mr. Macron is not the only top leader heading to Washington this week. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, another strong supporter of Ukraine, will have his first meeting with the new American president at the White House Thursday.
Another clash between allies is set to occur at the United Nations on Monday after the U.S. proposed a resolution to end the war that does not include the demand from Ukraine and European officials calling for Moscow’s forces to immediately withdraw from the country.
Prior to leaving for the U.S., Mr. Macron said he plans to tell Mr. Trump that it is in the joint interest of Americans and Europeans not to show weakness to Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of negotiations to end the war. European leaders have criticized comments from the Trump administration that Ukraine will not recover the lands it has lost in the three-year-old war and that Kyiv will be permanently blocked from its hopes of ever joining the NATO alliance.
Mr. Macron also suggested that he would make the case to Mr. Trump that Washington’s dealings with Mr. Putin could have enormous ramifications for the U.S.’s dealings with China.
Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Macron posted on social media that he intends to tell Trump, “You can’t be weak in the face of President Putin. It’s not you. 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?”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.