The leaders of France and Britain are making tag-team visits to Washington this week as Europe attempts to persuade President Donald Trump not to abandon Ukraine in pursuit of a peace deal in the three-year-old war with Russia.
There is an element of good cop, bad cop in efforts by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron to salvage American support for Kyiv.
Starmer, reluctant to openly confront Trump, speaks of being a bridge between Europe and the U.S. administration. Macron has more strongly criticized Trump’s recent statements that echo Russia’s narrative and American moves to negotiate with Moscow while sidelining Ukraine.
Both leaders stress Ukraine’s voice and sovereignty must be at the center of any peace talks.
The French president warned Trump against appearing “weak in the face of President Putin.”
“It’s not you, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest,” said Macron, who is due at the White House on Monday, the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Starmer is set to follow on Thursday.
Leave a Reply