French President Emmanual Macron met with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday to discuss options for ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and maintaining American-European security pacts.
“We are close to getting it solved,” Trump said about the peace negotiations at a press conference after the leaders met.
While state dignitaries are customarily first greeted by the president as honored guests when arriving at the White House, Macron was instead welcomed by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. But the French leader’s subsequent meeting with Trump went well, he said, calling it “very good, very friendly.”
In a TruthSocial post shared before his first press conference with Macron, Trump repeated many of the same false claims and demands he has levied against Ukraine in recent weeks.
He emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s mineral resources being part of any deal involving American security guarantees.
“Everyone expressed their goal of seeing the War end, and I emphasized the importance of the vital ‘Critical Minerals and Rare-Earths Deal’ between the United States and Ukraine, which we hope will be signed very soon!” Trump wrote.
Trump said the deal would forge an “Economic Partnership” between Ukraine and the US, “while also helping Ukraine grow.”
The US president did not invite Macron to the White House himself. Instead, the bilateral meeting was convened by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada under his powers as the current chair of the Group of Seven (G7), Trump wrote, to acknowledge the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, Trump wrote.
The impromptu meeting comes as Trump has begun bilateral negotiations with Russia to end the war, despite years of promises from allied partners that there would never be negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine’s participation, and after comments from Trump and other American officials earlier this month made clear that Washington expected European partners to ramp up their own security and accept the bulk of the allied responsibility for supporting Ukraine.
Trump shocked partners when he announced earlier this month that he had spoken directly with Putin about ending the war in Ukraine – without input from Kyiv. Tensions continued to rise after the US president attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a TruthSocial post that labeled the war-time leader a “dictator.”
In Monday’s post about Macron, Trump again said he was developing closer economic ties between the US and Russia.
“I am in serious discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia concerning the ending of the War, and also major Economic Development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia,” he said. “Talks are proceeding very well!”
Ukrainian and American officials have also been negotiating a peace deal that could see Ukraine’s mineral resources exchanged for security guarantees from the US, but details of the pending agreement are still unclear. Spokesmen from both Kyiv and Washington have confirmed that negotiations are ongoing.
At least 13 Western leaders traveled to Ukraine’s capital in support of the country on Monday for the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion – despite the danger posed by Russian missile and drone attacks. An additional 24 leaders joined the talks virtually.
Russia’s brutal war deliberately targets civilian and critical infrastructure,” EU Commissioner Ursala von der Leyen wrote in a joint statement with other bloc officials. “Russia and its leadership bear sole responsibility for this war and the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian population.”
Several European leaders also announced new aid packages for Ukraine on Monday, totaling billions of dollars.
“The European Union will continue to provide Ukraine with regular and predictable financial support, including reconstruction of the country after the war,” the joint statement said.
“We have taken unprecedented actions at the EU level to ramp up European defense industry production… This will allow us to step up our military support and cooperation with Ukraine while simultaneously strengthening our defense readiness and European sovereignty.”
The newly pledged support for Ukraine from European partners includes:
- EU: €3.5 billion in aid to Ukraine in March
- Spain: €1 billion in military aid for 2025
- UK: £4.5 billion in military assistance
- Norway: €3.5 billion for Ukraine in 2025
- Canada: 25 LAV III armored vehicles, four F-16 simulators, ammunition, and $5 billion from frozen Russian assets
- Sweden: Air defense systems, including Robot 70 and Tridon Mk2, worth $113 million
- Denmark: €270 million in aid
- Finland: €4.5 million for restoring social and public infrastructure
This is a developing story that will be updated as more information is available.