Emmanuel Macron brought together his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump in Paris this Saturday for their first meeting since the election of the future president of the United States, the Élysée announced. The Ukrainian president joined Donald Trump and his counterpart shortly after 5:30 p.m., who were face to face.
This trilateral meeting lasted a little over half an hour, without us knowing yet what was said there. At the end of this meeting, and before they joined Notre-Dame, a handshake between Trump and Zelensky in the courtyard of the Élysée around Macron concluded this unforeseen sequence.
Shortly before this announcement from the Élysée, Donald Trump praised his “excellent relations” with the French head of state Emmanuel Macron. He is making his first visit abroad since his election. Upon his arrival, Donald Trump exchanged a warm hug and several handshakes with Emmanuel Macron, on the steps of the presidential palace in front of the Republican Guard in full pomp.
“It’s an honor to be here”
They then made some statements to the press inside the presidential palace. “It is a great honor for the French people to receive you. Welcome back,” Emmanuel Macron said to his counterpart.
“It’s an honor to be here,” replied Donald Trump, emphasizing his “excellent relations” with the French president. “We’ve had great success working together,” he said. “The world seems to be going a little crazy right now,” he added, in front of the cameras.
Following their bilateral meeting, on the sidelines of the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral scheduled for the evening, the French president must continue with a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. This was originally scheduled for 4 p.m., but the President of Ukraine was seen in front of the Élysée at 5:30 p.m.
An important meeting
A trilateral meeting between the three leaders will therefore take place. This meeting promises to be of crucial importance for Volodymyr Zelensky, who has only had a brief telephone discussion with Donald Trump since the latter’s election in early November.
The future American president has repeatedly affirmed that he intends to strongly distance himself from the policy of massive support for kyiv led by Joe Biden in the war caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Very critical of the billions of dollars in aid released by the United States to militarily support Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, Donald Trump promised to resolve the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours”, without specifying how.