Macron, Starmer To Meet Trump Over Ukraine’s Assurance

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Washington next week amid alarm in Europe over U.S. President Donald Trump’s hardening stance towards Ukraine and overtures to Moscow on the three-year conflict.

The leaders of Europe’s two nuclear powers, who will be travelling separately, are expected to try to convince Trump not to rush to a ceasefire deal with Vladimir Putin at any cost, keep Europe involved and discuss military assurance to Ukraine.

Macron, who is trying to capitalise on a relationship with Trump built during their first presidential terms, has said agreeing to a bad deal that would amount to a capitulation of Ukraine would signal weakness to the United States’ foes, including China and Iran.

“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 in an hour-long answer and question session on social media ahead of Monday’s visit to the White House.

The visits come amid a rift between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whom Trump described as a “dictator”, that has alarmed Kyiv’s European allies, already reeling from a more aggressive U.S. posture on trade, diplomacy and even domestic European politics.

Starmer, who has also warned the end of the war cannot be a “temporary pause before Putin attacks again”, will be in Washington on Thursday.

Speaking on a Fox News podcast on Friday, Trump said Macron and Starmer had not “done anything” to end the war. “No meetings with Russia!” he said, although he described Macron as “a friend of mine” and Starmer as “a very nice guy”.

Military Assurance

The two countries are keen to show Trump they are ready to take on a bigger burden for European security.

Britain and France are firming up ideas with allies for military assurance for Ukraine and their two leaders will seek to convince Trump to provide U.S. assurances in any post ceasefire deal, Western officials said.

Their respective militaries began initial planning last summer for the post-war scenario, but the discussions accelerated in November after Trump secured the U.S. presidency, a French military official and two diplomats said.

They have also been supported in putting together an array of options by countries like Denmark and the Baltic states as Europeans discuss what they would be ready to do should there be an accord and peacekeepers required, officials said.

While both Britain and France have ruled out sending troops to Ukraine immediately, the plans, still in concept stage, centre around providing air, maritime, land and cyber support that would aim to deter Russia from launching any future attacks, Western officials said.

Air and sea assets could be based in Poland or Romania, restoring safe international air space and ensuring the Black Sea remained safe for international shipping, the official said.

Reuters/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma