French President Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump sought to smooth over a transatlantic rift on Ukraine Monday, with the US president eyeing a deal to end Russia's invasion "within weeks" backed by European peacekeepers.
Hosting Macron at the White House on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, Trump also said he expected Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to visit this week or next, to sign a deal giving Washington access to Kyiv's minerals.
Trump hailed Macron as a "very special man" as they shared one of their trademark macho handshakes in the Oval Office -- with the French president seeking to use his ties with Trump to shore up support for Ukraine.
"I think we could end it within weeks -- if we're smart. If we're not smart, it will keep going," Trump said.
The US president added that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to "accept" European troops deployed in Ukraine as guarantors of a deal to end fighting.
Macron said that both leaders wanted a "solid long lasting peace," proclaimed that Europe was ready to "step up" defense spending and reiterated that Europe was ready to deploy peacekeepers.
But he said he wanted "strong" US involvement in any such plan.
Both Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer -- who is visiting the White House on Thursday -- have said their countries are ready to contribute peacekeeping troops in Ukraine if there is a deal.
'Cannot be weak'
The friendly tone of the Oval Office meeting came despite many European nations fearing that Trump's recent embrace of Russian talking points on Ukraine could herald the end of the 80-year-old transatlantic alliance.
Trump sent shock waves around the world when he declared his readiness to resume diplomacy with Russia and to hold talks about the future of Ukraine without the involvement of European allies or Kyiv.
It sent European leaders beating a path to Trump's door, led by Macron. The two leaders earlier Monday dialed in together from the Oval Office to a call with the heads of the G7 leading economies and Zelensky.
The French president last week said he would tell the Republican: "You cannot be weak in the face of President Putin."
Trump had hit back last Friday saying that both Macron and Starmer -- the leaders of Europe's two nuclear powers -- had done "nothing" to try to end the Ukraine war over the past three years.
In recent days Macron has tried to coordinate a European response to Washington's sudden policy shift.
At their meeting, the French leader would present his "proposals for action" to counter the "Russian threat," an advisor to the president said. They will also hold a joint press conference.
Macron is representing the European Union as a whole during his visit, after meeting leaders across the continent, including Moscow-friendly Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the presidential advisor said.
The French leader aims to persuade Trump to continue some US support for Ukraine, respecting its sovereignty.
'Security guarantees'
Macron and Starmer, who will visit Trump on Thursday, coordinated on messaging prior to the French president's departure for the United States this weekend.
Britain and France have also discussed the deployment of European forces in Ukraine after a peace agreement is reached to deter Russia from future attacks.
"The idea is to deploy soldiers to a second line, not on the front line. This could be combined with a multinational operation, with non-European contingents," said a French source close to the discussions.
Macron and Starmer are expected to ask Trump to provide "solid security guarantees" for the deployed forces, and possibly logistics or intelligence.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told reporters on Monday that "we expect to talk quite a bit about the security guarantees that Macron has put on the table."
Trump and Macron would also discuss the thorny issue of trade with the European Union, with the US president threatening sweeping tariffs against the bloc, said Waltz.
With AFP
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