Washington, D.C., February 24, 2025 – French President Emmanuel Macron arrived at the White House on Monday to engage in high-level discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump over the prospects for ending the Ukraine conflict
The meeting comes amid stark differences over the path forward and is expected to cover issues such as the timing of any ceasefire agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, ensuring continued European involvement, and potential military guarantees for Ukraine.
Macron is the first European leader to visit Trump since the U.S. president regained power a month ago. The leaders are set to participate in a G7 call, conduct bilateral talks, and later hold a joint press conference at 2 p.m. EST. In a parallel effort, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled to visit Trump later this week, reflecting growing alarm in Europe over Trump’s hardening stance on Ukraine and his recent overtures to Moscow regarding the three-year conflict.
Amid these discussions, Trump and his team have been negotiating a revenue-sharing arrangement with Ukraine aimed at recouping some of the funds previously sent by the Biden administration in the form of wartime aid. Over the weekend, Trump expressed optimism that an agreement would be reached soon.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recently rejected U.S. demands for $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine as repayment for wartime assistance, noting that the United States had supplied far less and had offered no specific security guarantees in return.
Drawing on his longstanding relationship with Trump from their earlier presidential terms, Macron warned that any agreement that compromised Ukraine’s position would signal weakness. “I will tell him: deep down you cannot be weak in the face of President Putin. It’s not you, it’s not what you’re made of, and it’s not in your interests,” he said during an hour-long question-and-answer session on social media ahead of his visit.
As world leaders continue to navigate complex geopolitical challenges, Monday’s talks are seen as a critical moment in shaping the future trajectory of the Ukraine conflict and broader international security.
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