France’s President Emmanuel Macron intends to tell U.S. President Donald Trump to toughen up and not “be weak” in the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression when the two leaders meet in Washington, DC, next week.
The pair will talk as U.S.-led negotiations to end the almost three-year war in Ukraine move forward.
AP reports Macron used a one-hour question and answer session on his social media Thursday to declare he’ll tell Trump: “You can’t be weak in the face of President Putin. It’s not you, it’s not your trademark, 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?”
Trump plans to have direct negotiations with Moscow to seek peace in Ukraine while leaving European allies and Kyiv officials worried they are being pushed aside into irrelevance.
Macron did concede Trump’s strategy to create “uncertainty” in talks with Russia could actually make Western allies stronger in these talks.
Putin “doesn’t know what he (Trump) is going to do, he thinks (Trump) is capable of anything,” Macron said, according to AP. “This uncertainty is good for us and for Ukraine.”
Macron added he would seek to persuade Trump that U.S. interests and Europeans’ interests are aligned, telling him: “If you let Russia take over Ukraine, it would be unstoppable.”
Asked if he would contribute French troops to Ukraine, the French leader said he would not send soldiers to fight but rather a security force meant to bring “guarantees” once a peace deal is achieved.
“We don’t rule out, within a framework planned with our allies, the possibility of having forces which, once peace has been negotiated, could contribute to guaranteeing Ukraine’s security,” he said.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
Read the full article here
