The French president will today present “proposals for action” to US President Donald Trump to tackle the “Russian threat” in Europe and to secure “sustainable peace” in the midst of a Russian -American approach.
Macron arrived yesterday, Sunday night in Washington and will meet with the White House today at 12:00 (local time, 19:00 Greek time) for a face -to -face conversation, followed by a lunch and a joint press conference of the Two men at 15:00.
Three years after the French president’s meeting with him on February 7, 2022, in a ultimate and vain attempt to prevent the Russian invasion of Ukraine, today’s Macron’s visit to Washington also has an urgent character.
Trump caused an earthquake on the international stage when he announced that, putting the Russian president at the center, while at the same time missing an opportunity to attack his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelenski.
Europeans are afraid that this plan will mark the tradition of Kiev and encourage Russia to continue threatening its neighboring countries, some of which are EU members.
“We have a force that is over -arranged (…) and which continues to be over -arranged. We don’t know where it will stop today. As a result, we must all act to limit it, “Macron said before his departure for Washington.
Representative of Europeans
The French president will act as a spokesman for the Europeans, since last week he had talks with almost everyone, including the pro -Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban.
“He goes to Washington with action proposals reflecting the convergence points presented” during these discussions, Macron’s adviser underlined.
This means “continuing support for Ukraine, providing the necessary military aid, respecting its sovereignty”, in order to “take into account the interests of Europeans completely,” he explained.
To do this, Macron intends to convince Trump that Russia is a “existential threat”, that Putin “will not respect” a truce and that there should be guarantees for a ceasefire.
Before leaving for the United States, the French president talked to British Prime Minister Kir Starmer, who is expected in Washington on Thursday, to tune in to the message they will send to the US president.
Development of European Force in Ukraine
London and Paris are working to develop a European force in Ukraine after a peace agreement is concluded in order to prevent Russia from re -attacking the country.
“The idea is to develop soldiers in the second line and not on the front line. This could be combined with a multinational business, with units outside Europe, “said a French source that is aware of the discussions.
The French and the British leader are expected to ask the US president “clear security guarantees” for the forces to be developed in Ukraine.
The Trump government excludes the possibility of sending inland forces to Ukraine, but could provide diligent assistance, depth strikes, information, and commit to responding to a Russian attack, Europeans hope.
Macron also hopes to show Trump that, if he looks very confident about Russia, he may encourage his main opponent, China, to exacerbate its pressure on Taiwan.
The Republican government seems to agree with Moscow right now, considering that it is “not realistic” for Ukraine to recover the territories it lost to Russia or join NATO.
“It is in its interest to work with Europeans because Europe has the ability to grow, financial potential, (capacity) of cooperation with the Americans,” the French president will note.
On the other hand, it is going to warn Trump that Europeans will respond if the US is imposing additional tariffs on their products.
