French President Emmanuel Macron has told U.S. President Donald Trump that he did not understand Washington’s position on Greenland, while offering to host a G7 meeting that would include Russia and other countries, according to screenshots of messages posted online by Trump.
In the messages, Macron suggested that Ukrainians, Danes, Syrians and Russians could be invited to take part on the margins of the G7 meeting scheduled for Thursday. He also invited Trump to have dinner with him in Paris.
A source close to the French president confirmed that the messages shared by Trump were authentic. Any response from Trump was not included in the screenshots posted early Tuesday on his Truth Social account. Requests for comment from the White House and Macron’s office were not immediately answered.
Addressing Trump as his “friend,” Macron said in the messages that he was “totally in line” with the U.S. president on Syria and expressed confidence that they could achieve “great things” on Iran.
Trump’s post came amid rising tensions between Washington and European leaders over Greenland. European Union leaders are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Thursday for an emergency summit following Trump’s threats to impose new tariffs on several European countries over his demand to acquire the territory.
Macron has described the threat of tariffs linked to Greenland as unacceptable.
The Truth Social post appeared hours after Trump said he would impose a 200 per cent tariff on French wines and champagnes, a move he said would pressure Macron to join his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts.
It was not immediately clear when Macron sent the messages.
Macron is due to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday before returning to Paris later the same day, according to officials at the Elysee Palace. They said there were no plans to extend his stay to Wednesday, when Trump is expected to arrive in Davos.
In December, Macron said Europe may need to resume direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin if U.S.-led efforts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine fail. Last week, he also said France now provides about two-thirds of intelligence shared with Ukraine, largely replacing the United States.
Reuters