French president Emmanuel Macron has said a truce “could be done in the weeks to come”, shortly after meeting Donald Trump at the White House where he told the US president a deal should not mean the “surrender” of Ukraine.
The coordinated Europe-led show of solidarity on Monday came after a torrid week, in which Trump blamed Ukraine for starting the war against Russia, described Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections”, and made it clear Europe would have to enforce and pay for any future peace settlement.
While Macron and Trump met in Washington, the US sided with Russia at the UN, pushing for a resolution on the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that did not mention Moscow’s role as the aggressor.
Speaking before bilateral talks at the White House, French president Emmanuel Macron said Europe was prepared to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire including peacekeepers, although they would not be sent to the frontline.
Trump described a potential minerals deal with Ukraine as “very close” and said he might meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon to seal the agreement.
