Emmanuel Macron has said a peace deal with Russia “must not mean a surrender of Ukraine” – as Donald Trump claimed Vladimir Putin’s forces “want to end this war”.
The US and French presidents met amid fragile relations between America and Europe and after Mr Trump launched a verbal attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Meeting in the White House on the third anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the French president said he and Mr Trump “made substantive steps forward during our discussions”.
Mr Macron told reporters that Europe should do more to bolster defence in the continent.
However, he stressed Russia “is the aggressor” in the conflict and added: “President Putin violated the peace.”
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Trump and Macron’s ‘friendly’ meeting
Peace must allow Kyiv ‘sovereignty’
The French leader then said: “We want peace, he wants peace. We want peace swiftly, but we don’t want an agreement that is weak.”
“This peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine or a ceasefire without guarantees,” he added. “It must allow for Ukrainian sovereignty and allow Ukraine to negotiate with other stakeholders regarding the issues that affect it.
“It is also a country in which we need to shoulder our responsibilities so that we ensure security and stability for Ukraine and for the entire region.
“For Europeans, this is an existential issue.”
Read more:
Trump and Macron’s careful dance side-stepped divisions
Macron said any peace deal ‘must not mean a surrender of Ukraine’. Pic: Reuters
‘Get this war stopped’
At a news conference following the talks, Mr Macron said he “fully believes” there is a path forward in negotiations.
He also agreed “there is good reason for President Trump to re-engage with President Putin” – a week after the leaders had a 90-minute-long phone call.
Mr Trump added Russia would accept European troops in Ukraine as part of peacekeeping efforts, adding: “I specifically asked him (Putin) that question. He has no problem with it.”
He told reporters: “When I got here, one of the first calls I made was to Putin and it was made with great respect. They want to end this war.”
Mr Macron ‘fully believes’ there is a path forward with peace talks after meeting with Mr Trump. Pic: AP
Mr Trump then explained he wants to “get this war stopped,” whether that’s through a ceasefire or a direct agreement – but when asked if Ukraine should give up territory as part of any deal, he said: “We’ll see.”
The news conference came as Mr Putin said he is ready to discuss Russia cutting its defence budget alongside the US, saying a mutual drop of 50% would be a “good idea”.
The Russian president also touted a possible economic deal with the US, offering talks on a deal for its own rare earth metal supplies and for the sale of aluminium to American firms.
The US president is due to meet Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday, after the prime minister warned Mr Trump that a bad peace deal would be a “disaster for everyone”.
Read more from Sky News:
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Earlier on Monday, Mr Trump said he hoped Mr Zelenskyy would visit the US to sign a deal on Ukraine’s rare earth minerals soon.
Just last week, in a bitter exchange of words, Mr Trump called Ukraine’s leader a “dictator” and said he “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left” after Mr Zelenskyy had accused him of living in a Russian-made “disinformation space”.
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Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
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