"Your President, Indeed, Is Very Confident": Emmanuel Macron Just Reacted To Trump's Shocking Hot Mic Comment On Vladimir Putin
European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, descended on Washington, D.C., a few days after the Trump-Putin meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, to present a united front in support of Ukraine and make sure Kyiv does not get pressured into an unfavorable agreement that rewards Putin's aggression.
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During the impromptu defense summit at the White House, Trump was caught on a hot mic, telling Macron: 'I think [Putin] wants to make a deal for me. Do you understand? As crazy as it sounds.'
@atrupar/X / Via x.com
In an interview with NBC's Kristen Welker, Macron said it was 'great' hearing Trump be optimistic about his ability to broker peace between Moscow and Kyiv.
'Your president, indeed, is very confident about the capacity he has to get this deal done, which is a good news for all of us,' Macron said.
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Still, Macron said he was not convinced that Putin is ready to end the conflict prompted by his full-scale invasion of Ukraine over three years ago, expressing skepticism about the Russian president's intentions.
'As far as I'm concerned, when I look at the situation and the facts, I don't see President Putin really willing to get peace now, but perhaps I'm, I'm too pessimistic,' Macron said.
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'I think at a point of time, probably we will have to increase the pressure on Russia to be sure they want peace, because as long as President Putin and his people will consider they can win this war and get a better result by force, they will not negotiate,' he continued.
Trump, though, does not seem to share Macron's reservations about Putin, even though the Russian dictator has made no concrete concessions indicating his commitment to peace.
'This gentleman wants it to end, and Vladimir Putin wants it to end,' Trump said speaking alongside Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.
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'I think the whole world is tired of it, and we're going to get it ended,' Trump added.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
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