French President Emmanuel Macron said he would travel to Washington to try to convince US President Donald Trump that his interests are aligned with European allies and that showing any weakness towards Russia's Vladimir Putin would make it harder to deal with China and Iran.
"I know Trump. I respect him and I believe he respects me," Macron said.
"I will tell him: deep down, deep down, you cannot show weakness in the face of President Vladimir Putin. That is not you and it is not in your interest," Macron added during answers to questions posed to him on social media.
Macron said that uncertainty about how Trump is handling Russia's three-year invasion of Ukraine is worrying for US allies because he could be negotiating something that is insufficient, but it is also creating uncertainty for Putin and is something that should be used to help in negotiations.
"The word is uncertainty. Donald Trump creates uncertainty in others because he will make deals, so Donald Trump creating uncertainty for Vladimir Putin is a good thing," Macron said, adding that the Russian president does not know what Trump will do and how he might react.
Macron is expected to be in Washington on Monday for talks with Trump as Europeans seek to play a key role in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and discuss how to provide security guarantees to Kiev if a ceasefire is reached.
The French leader also said that showing weakness towards Putin, which would lead to Ukraine's capitulation through a bad deal, would make Trump less credible in confronting China and curbing Iran's nuclear program.
"How can you be credible with China if you are weak with Putin?" Macron said, adding that if Ukraine is left to fall, it would send a strategic signal to Beijing and Taiwan.
"And, whoever does not want Iran not to possess a nuclear bomb, you cannot show weakness with someone who is helping Tehran achieve such a thing," Macron said.
Macron has called the latest developments a "new era" and held the online session answering questions from the public as part of the French government's efforts to raise awareness of the impact the war in Ukraine is having on France and the American diplomacy that has been moving rapidly since Trump took office a month ago. REL (A2 Televizion)
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