Entretien du Président Emmanuel Macron avec le Président Donald Trump à la Maison Blanche.

Thank you very much. We very much appreciate the attention. Today is a big day in that we had a G7. And President Macron is a very special man in my book. We were together. We did it together. And I think a lot of progress has been made. We've had some very good talks with Russia. We've had some very good talks with others. And we're trying to get the war ended with Russia and Ukraine. And I think we've come a long way in a short period of weeks. And the President has been very helpful also. And we're also talking about trade, various trade deals that we will be doing with France. And we'll be discussing a little bit further.

And then we'll have a press conference later when you can ask them questions. We'll be having a press conference in a little while. We're going to have lunch with the entire French staff. And we look forward to it. And, again, the relationship has been very special with France and very special with this gentleman on my right. And we look forward to keeping that going for a long period of time. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I want to thank Mr. President for his hospitality. We had a good discussion this morning for the G7 here and for the third year of this war in Ukraine. And I think our common objective clearly is to build peace and a solid and longstanding peace. And this is what we will discuss, obviously, because I have great respect for bravery and the resistance of the Korean people. And we do share the objective of peace, but we are very aware of the necessity to have guarantees and a solid peace in order to stabilize the situation. I'm here as a friend because through centuries we've been friends.

And we are personal friends, as you mentioned, because we work very well together. And I think the U.S. and France always stand on the same side, the right side, I would say, of history. And this is exactly what's at stake today. And this is a very important moment for Europe as well. And I'm here as well after discussions with all of my colleagues to say that Europe is willing to step up, to be a stronger partner, to do more in defense and security for its continents, and as well to be a large partner and to be engaged in trade, economy, investment in a lot of topics. So I'm very excited by the discussion we will have, and obviously we will follow up. And I want to thank you again, Mr.

President, for your presence for Notre Dame de Paris. It meant a lot for French people, and I want to thank you for that.

That's the cathedral, and they've done a fantastic job. The President has done a great job in bringing it back. That was a terrible thing, like, what, five years ago? Yeah. Watching that burn was a very horrible, horrible sight, and you've done a fantastic job in bringing it back. So I congratulate you. Thank you for being here. Thank you very much. Anybody want to ask a question or two?

Mr. President, we reached an agreement with the Ukrainians on the critical minerals deal.

It looks like we're getting very close. The deal's being worked on. We're, I think, getting very close to getting an agreement where we get our money back over a period of time. But it also gives us something where I think it's very beneficial to their economy, to them as a country. But, you know, we're in for $350 billion. How we got there, I don't know. But that's a lot of money. A lot of money invested. And we had nothing, nothing to show for it. It was the Biden administration's fault. The Europeans are in for about $100 billion, and they do it in the form of a loan. And the Europeans have been great on this issue. They understood it wasn't fair, and we were able to work something out.

But with the Ukrainians, I think I can say that we're very close. Scott's around here someplace. And I think we can see that we're very high. I think we're very close. Do you have something to say about that, Scott? We are very close to one yard long. All right.

Mr. President, would a minerals deal include a security guarantee for Ukraine?

Well, it'll be Europe is going to make sure that nothing happens. I don't think it's going to be much of a problem. I think once we settle, there's going to be no more war in Ukraine, and you're not going to have it. It's not going to be a very big problem. That's going to be the least of it.

Mr. President. I was wondering some Greek media reporting that the U.S. has agreed to shut down a military base in Greece that's been a logistical hub for NATO.

That who shut that?

That the U.S. has agreed to shut it down at the request of Turkey and Russia. Is that all true?

Marco, do you have anything to say? I don't know. Mr. President. Sir, that's a no. That's a no. Mr. President. Is it a no? It's a no, sir. It's not a correct statement. Thank you.

Mr. President, how do you react to people in Europe who said that you are abandoning Ukraine and that you are going to sacrifice the security of Ukraine by making a deal with Vladimir Putin?

No, we're helping Ukraine like nobody's ever helped Ukraine before. And I can say this, if I didn't become president, Ukraine would right now still be at a level where there would be no even thinking about a peace. And it was, it's a sad thing that this happened. This would have never happened, this war, if I were president. Zero chance. And it has happened. So my function is to get you out of the war, get them out of the war, let them live. It's a bloody war. It's a horrible war. Thousands of people are being killed a week. And I would say Russia, maybe 700,000 people. I think Ukraine, probably a similar number. And that's not talking about the towns and the cities that have been blown up.

That's talking about soldiers. This has been a horrible, bloody mess. And we're going to get it solved. We've got to get it solved. And, you know, we're not talking about America's soldiers, soldiers from this country. We're talking about Russia and Ukraine. But on a humanitarian basis, we have to get this very, very bloody, savage problem solved. And I will say this also. It could lead to World War III if it's not solved. You know, there'll be a point at which it's not going to stop at those two countries already. There's such involvement from other countries. And it could really lead to a very big war, World War III. And we're not going to let that happen either.

Would you support the idea to send European troops in Ukraine to back the...

The European troops may go into Ukraine as peacemakers. So when the agreement is done, they can watch that everything is followed properly. I don't think that's going to be a problem. And a lot of the European countries, I think... I don't want to speak for France, but I know that the President has talked about doing that also. So I think that'll be a very good day when we can go in as peacekeepers as opposed to what's going on right now with everybody being killed.

Will they have U.S. backing, those troops going into Ukraine? Will they have U.S. backing from U.S. troops?

Well, we're going to have a backing of some kind. Obviously, the European countries are going to be involved. And I don't think you're going to need much backing. And I think that's not going to be a problem. Once an agreement is signed, Russia is going to get back to its business. And Ukraine and Europe are going to get back to their business. I don't think it's going to be a problem.

Mr. President, talk about those. Will you meet with President Zelensky soon?

What?

Will you meet with President Zelensky soon?

I will be meeting with President Zelensky. In fact, he may come in this week or next week to sign the agreement. And which would be nice. I'd love to meet him. We'd meet at the Oval Office. So the agreement is being worked on now. They're very close to a final deal. It will be a deal with rare earths and various other things. And he would like to come, as I understand it, here to sign it. And that would be great with me. I think they then have to get it approved by their counsel or whoever might approve it. But I'm sure that will happen. How soon is the President of the next meeting to meet with President Zelensky? Yeah, at some point I'll be meeting with President Zelensky. Yes.

How soon is the President of the next meeting?

I don't know when we speak. We're trying to get this thing worked out. But yeah, at some point I'll be meeting with President Putin too.

Mr. President, I can say a few words in French. Yes, please. No. Le président l'a dit, je pense que c'est un moment important de la discussion. On veut bâtir la paix en Ukraine, et le bilan qui a été rappelé est une réalité. Il y a d'un million de morts et de blessés depuis le début de ce conflit et de cette guerre d'agression. Notre volonté, c'est que cette paix dure, parce que nous, nous avons déjà eu un cessez-le-feu et une paix qui n'a pas été respectée. C'était les accords de Minsk, 1 puis 2. Et donc le corps de cette discussion, c'est de s'assurer d'abord qu'il y ait un cessez-le-feu, ensuite que les Ukrainiens soient impliqués.

Et je pense que ce que vient de dire, à l'instant, le président Trump est très important, c'est-à-dire qu'il va rencontrer rapidement le président Zelensky pour signer cet accord sur les minerais critiques et les terres rares, et que c'est aussi un moyen d'avoir une implication américaine forte. Les Européens sont prêts à prendre leur charge sous des formes diverses, de soutien à l'armée ukrainienne, de présence, y compris pour s'assurer que la paix soit durable. Et l'implication dans la durée des Etats-Unis d'Amérique à travers cet accord est une bonne chose. Et donc tout est encore à construire. Et je ne veux pas présenter les discussions. Mais nous partageons le même objectif.

Et ce qu'on a discuté ce matin, pendant une heure après la visioconférence ensemble, est-ce qu'on va continuer de travailler ? Est-ce que l'intégrité territoriale de l'Ukraine est encore un objectif possible ?

Nous avons parlé de la première fois, juste un moment à l'heure. C'est exactement ce que nous voulons faire. Nous voulons construire une paix avec l'Ukraine. Comme le Président Trump a dit, il y a déjà 1 million de morts et de l'Ukraine depuis l'Ukraine. Depuis l'armée, nous avons eu un c'est ce qui a été fait dans l'un des pays, qui n'a pas été respecté. C'était sous le Minsk Agreements 1 et 2. Le Président Trump, comme il a dit, nous allons le dire avec le Président Zelensky pour signer un accord sur les raires. Et nous sommes heureux de voir ce qui est très fort, américain involvement.

Europe, de course, aussi s'est prêt à soutenir l'Ukraine dans diverses manières, soutenir ses militaires. Et nous ne voulons pas prévent des discussions qui sont maintenant dans le cadre. Mais nous avons eu aussi de partager le même objectif de construire ce blast en paix.

Je veux dire une petite histoire. Nous étions à l'Eiffel Tower, nous étions à la nourriture de l'Ukraine, avec votre vôtre et avec ma vôtre. Et nous venions en sortir et il a commencé à parler le français. Et nous n'avons pas d'interpréter. Et il était allé et allé et allé et allé, et j'étais juste nodding, oui, oui, oui. Et il m'a dit vraiment, parce que j'ai reçu la dernière fois et j'ai lu les papers et j'ai dit, « C'est pas ce qu'on a dit. C'est pas ce qu'on a dit. C'est part de cette situation. C'est part de cette situation. La autre side a beaucoup de support aussi. Donc, on va voir comment ça fonctionne. Il peut y avoir, tu ne peux jamais faire des lives.

C'est une chose que tu ne peux, tu peux faire des money, mais tu ne peux pas faire des lives. Il y a beaucoup plus de lives que les gens sont parlés de. Il y a beaucoup plus de guerre. Mais je pense que nous sommes prêts à se faire.

Dois-vous que Doge pourrait bénéficier de plus de communes ? Il y a eu un e-mail telling les employés de donner cinq choses qu'ils ont fait l'année dernière. Les agents ont dit que les gens ont dit qu'ils ont fait l'année dernière.

Vous parlez de la dernière e-mail où il voulait savoir ce que tu as fait l'année dernière. Vous savez pourquoi il voulait ça, par exemple ? Je pensais que c'est génial. Parce que nous avons des gens qui n'ont pas de travail et personne n'est pas de travail pour le gouvernement. Donc, par poser la question, tell us ce que tu as fait l'année dernière, ce que tu as fait l'année dernière, c'est qu'est-ce que tu as fait l'année dernière. Et puis, si tu n'as pas répondu, comme tu es un peu semi-frié ou tu as fait l'année dernière, parce que beaucoup de gens ne sont pas répondu parce qu'ils n'ont même pas existent.

C'est-ce que tu as fait l'année dernière, c'est-ce que tu as fait l'année dernière, c'est-ce que tu as fait l'année dernière. Donc, ce qu'ils font, c'est-ce que tu as fait l'année dernière, c'est-ce que tu as travaillé pour le gouvernement. Est-ce que tu as payées d'autres personnes qui ne sont pas travaillées ? Et, you know, où est-ce que tu as fait l'année dernière? Nous avons trouvé des millions de dollars de fraude, jusqu'à ce moment-là. Et nous avons juste commencé. Nous allons voir à Fort Knox pour voir si le gold est là. Parce que peut-être quelqu'un qui a soldé le gold. Tons de gold. Donc, je pense qu'il y a beaucoup de géniaux en sending.

Nous essayons de trouver si les gens travaillent. Et donc, nous sommes envoyés une lettre aux gens. «Please, tell us ce que tu as fait l'année dernière. Si les gens ne répondent, c'est très possible qu'il n'y ait aucun type personne, ou qu'ils ne travaillent pas. »

Certains agents ont dit qu'ils n'ont pas répondu parce qu'ils n'ont pas répondu. Mais, Elon Musk's tweet disait que un failure de répondre doit être fait comme une resignation. Donc, il y a été un disconnect dans les communications.

Est-ce qu'il y a des questions ? Oui. Est-ce qu'il y a des questions ? Est-ce qu'il y a des questions ? Oui, non, non. Est-ce qu'il y a des questions ? Est-ce qu'il y a des questions ? Est-ce qu'il y a des questions ? Est-ce qu'il y a des questions ? Est-ce qu'il y a des questions ? Est-ce qu'il y a des questions posthen Vous êtes pas là où ?

Et vous êtes pas là où ?

Et vous êtes pas là où ? Donc, vous savez, nous sommes en train de faire un travail. Et nous avons juste un poll qui a eu l'impression, le Harvard Poll, qui est que c'est ce que nous sommes en masse populaire, ce que nous sommes en train de faire.

Vous croyez en NATO, en l'alliance entre Europe et Amérique, en NATO ?

NATO est très très élevée, et quand je suis évoquée à l'époque, je suis en train de faire des millions d'euros pour l'Ontario. Mais il n'a pas de dollars pour l'Ontario, parce qu'il n'a pas payé depuis longtemps. Et je disais, « Si vous n'avez pas payé, nous ne allons pas être partagés de l'Ontario, nous ne allons pas protéger, nous ne allons pas faire ce que nous devons faire. Et nous avons pris des millions d'euros pour l'Ontario. L'Ontario est une bonne chose si elle est fait bien et si elle est utilisée bien.

En ce moment, on va parler beaucoup de tarifs en Canada, en Mexico et en Europe. Je voudrais savoir quel est votre idée de l'Ontario ? Si vous voulez faire la même chose dans l'Italie ?

En ce moment, on parle un peu plus ?

En ce moment, on parle un peu plus ?

En ce moment, on parle un peu plus ? Vous avez une belle voix, mais vous n'avez pas. En ce moment, vous parlez de l'Ontario ? Where are you from ? Italy. From Italy ? Oh, I love Italy.

Go ahead. I want to make, I want to know if you have the same idea with Italy about tarifs.

Well, look, I love Italy, and Italy is a very important nation. We have a wonderful woman as your leader, and she was on the conversation today, the one that we had, the G7. And, no, I think Italy is doing very well. I think Italy has got very strong leadership with Georgia.

Monsieur le Président, qu'est-ce que vous répondez au Président Trump, qui a dit que les Français et les Britanniques n'avaient pas ?

Any other questions over here ? Yes, Mr. President.

Yes, ma'am. Can you clarify what you meant in your truth today on the major economic development transactions between the U.S. and Russia ? Any more details ?

With respect to what, Russia ?

In Solving a Peace Daily, you said there will be major economic development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia ?

Yeah, we're trying to do some economic development deals. They have a lot of things that we want, and we'll see. I mean, I don't know if that will come to fruition, but we'd love to be able to do that if we could. You know, they have massive rare earth. It's a very large, it's actually the largest in terms of land. It's by far the largest country. And they have very valuable things that we could use, and we have things that they could use, and it would be very good if we could do that. I think it would be a very good thing for world peace and lasting peace. Well, I mean, our first, by far, our first thing that we want to do, the first element of the overall transaction is ending the war.

But if, just as we're doing with Ukraine, if we could do some economic development in terms of Russia and getting things that we want, something like that would be possible, yes.

Mr. President, can you explain the rationale in having the U.S. vote against the U.N. resolutions that Ukraine proposed and also the U.S. proposed?

I would rather not explain it now, but it's sort of self-evident, I think.

Mr. President, you talked about increasing the tariffs on products on the European Union. Is that still something you want to do today?

Well, it's not increasing. It's reciprocal. So whatever they charge us, we're charging them. So it's not a question of increasing. If they charge us 20 percent, we charge them 20 percent. If they charge us 30 or 40 percent, then we do that, too. So that would be on European Union. But that really would be with respect to everybody. It's reciprocity. So, reciprocal. Whatever they charge us, we charge them. Nobody has a problem. Even you. I see you don't have a problem anymore, right?

Mr. President, are you thinking of going to Moscow soon? Maybe in May or the 9th of May for the university?

I mean, not soon, but I would be certainly, if this all gets settled out, which I think it will, sure, I would go there. And he'd come here, too.

On the 9th of May or on the red square?

I don't know the 9th of May, no. I think that's pretty soon. But no, at the appropriate time, I would go to Moscow. I think we're working in soon. How soon? Within weeks? Weeks? Yeah? I think so, right? Quite a price for Ukraine. Don't you think so? I'd like to answer to you. I think we could end it within weeks if we're smart. If we're not smart, it'll keep going and we'll keep losing young, beautiful people that shouldn't be dying. And we don't want that. And remember what I said, this could escalate into a third world war. And we don't want that either.

Mr. President, your envoy, Steve Wyckoff, suggested a temporary ceasefire in the Congress. Do you worry that they're not dealing with good faith?

No, I think they, at some point, will agree to that. I think they probably wanted to. And I think once you have a ceasefire, it's going to end because they're not going from a ceasefire back to war. I think people have had their foe. I'm just glad I was able to help because there was no communication with Russia until I came along. Biden didn't communicate. He couldn't communicate with his own child. So Biden didn't communicate. He couldn't. It was terrible. He hadn't spoken to Putin in three years. You're trying to end a war. People are being killed. Every week, thousands of people are being killed. Soldiers, in this case, mostly. Also towns, you know, as missiles go in and back and forth.

No, it's a shame. This should have never happened. This is a very sad, this is going to go down in the history books. This is a very sad moment because that should have been stopped. That should have never started. And if it did start, it should have stopped the first week, not three years later. Okay?

I think that we need to try for Ukraine. I just want to make sure you understand that, I think that there are several questions from your colleagues who were asked in French and who are rejoicing the questions posed by the American colleagues. First, this discussion is important and building peace is a necessity. Second, it is that today a lack of dissuasion is restored et que, c'est ce que veut dire le président Trump quand il n'y aura plus de problème, je pense que la force du réengagement américain aujourd'hui, c'est en quelque sorte l'incertitude aussi pour le président Poutine.

Et donc il y a une capacité de dissuasion qui est là, qui permet de sceller d'abord sans doute une trêve, la capacité à vérifier que cette trêve est respectée, et ensuite un accord de paix qui permettra de reconstruire l'Ukraine, mais de lui apporter aussi les garanties de sécurité. Dans le cadre de ces garanties de sécurité, nous pensons que nous avons notre rôle à jouer. Et donc on verra à ce moment-là de la discussion, je ne veux pas l'appréhender, ce qui est nécessaire pour que l'Ukraine puisse rester un pays souverain. Et d'ailleurs, dans les discussions entre l'Ukraine et les Etats-Unis d'Amérique, il y a cette question d'une souveraineté ukrainienne qui est respectée.

Et donc nous, ce que nous avons préparé, en particulier avec nos partenaires britanniques, dans le cadre d'un travail très étroit qu'on a mené ces dernières semaines, et partagé avec tous les pays européens et alliés qui sont prêts à s'y joindre, c'est l'idée de dire qu'on est prêt à apporter ces garanties de sécurité. Les conditions doivent être définies par l'accord. Ça peut aller jusqu'à l'envoi, comme l'a dit le président, de troupes qui iront observer que la paix est bien respectée, qui iront se positionner, pas sur la ligne de front, pas pour justement, en quelque sorte, être dans le conflit, mais marquer une présence comme une garantie.

Il y a d'autres moyens de soutenir, qui peuvent être des soutiens crus et capacitaires à l'armée, des structures nouvelles. Mais je pense aussi que l'accord qui est discuté, le président l'a dit, la crédibilité américaine qui est mise dans ce moment, c'est aussi montrer que chacun est dans son rôle, mais que nous avons une unité européenne et américaine, et donc avec une forme de garantie que les Américains prennent par la discussion sur les minerais critiques qui sont en train de finaliser.

Je pense que... C'est la langue la plus belle. Je n'ai pas de savoir ce qu'il dit, mais c'est la langue la plus belle. Vas-y, s'il vous plaît.

C'est une question qui a été demandé par plusieurs. Ce que nous devons faire, c'est d'assurer que nous nous construisons la paix. Nous avons des capacités de déterrence. Nous avons des capacités de déterrence qui ont été restées. As President Trump a dit, il ne va pas plus de problèmes. Nous avons vu le U.S. re-engagement et le message que cela envies à Mr. Putin. Nous avons déterrence, qui va permettre un truce à prendre place, vérification de la truce, et puis un peace agreement qui peut être mis en place pour pouvoir commencer à reconstruire l'Ukraine avec des garanties de sécurité. Et nous avons un rôle à jouer à ça.

Again, je ne suis pas preupte de discussion, mais nous avons parlé de l'Ukraine de sovereignty et ça a été un sujet de discussion entre le U.S. et l'Ukraine. Nous avons aussi été travaillé avec nos amis britanniques avec nos amis de l'Ukraine. Nous avons partagé cette information avec d'autres Européens européens, et nous sommes prêts et prêts à permettre ces garanties, qui peut peut-être qui vont être là pour maintenir peace. Ils ne vont pas être au-dessus de la front-line. Ils ne vont pas être part de la confliction. Ils vont être là pour ensure que la peace est respectueuse. Notre assistance peut-être peut-être d'autres capacités de building, peut-être pour le militaire.

Nous avons un rôle à l'Ukraine, nous avons un rôle à jouer, mais nous avons un rôle à l'Ukraine, mais nous avons un rôle à l'Ukraine. Est-ce que vous pensez que l'Ukraine devrait donner un rôle à l'Ukraine ?

Nous allons voir. C'est une negotiation qui s'est déjà commencé, et ils ont été combattés. Il y a beaucoup d'eau qui a été pris, donc nous allons voir comment ça fonctionne pour la part de l'Ukraine. Je vais dire qu'il y a eu une grande unité aujourd'hui, via Skype ou ce qu'il y a un autre. Mais il y a eu une grande unité aujourd'hui avec les autres pays.

Can they take it back what they lost in the past year?

That's not an easy thing to do, is it, right ? It's not easy. You're just asking whether or not you can take back the land that they lost. And I say that, yeah, perhaps some of it, yeah. I hope so. But that's not an easy thing to do. It's going to be something we're talking about.

Do you accept the European troops as peacekeeper, would you think?

Yeah, he will accept that. I've asked him that question. Do you talk to him? I've asked him that question.

Is France going to lift the bloc

on the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets in Belgium?

France has opposed unfreezing it to pay Ukraine and compensate the U.S. for its support. Is France going to lift its opposition to that?

This is, I mean, we speak about frozen assets. We already used them to back, precisely, the loans negotiated at the G7. And it's part of the sanctions, so it will depend on the follow-up of the discussions. But clearly, we respect international law. It's just frozen assets now. You can take the proceeds of the frozen assets, but you cannot take the assets themselves because it's not respecting international law, and we want to respect international law.

How is one different than the other? If you can take the proceeds from it, how can you not take the assets?

Because it's very different. You keep the assets. You take the proceeds because they are paralyzed in a certain way. You take the proceeds during the wartime, but you keep the assets, and it's part of the negotiation at the end of the war because, I mean, this war costed all of us a lot of money, and this is the responsibility of Russia because the aggressor is Russia. So at the end of the day, this frozen asset should be part of the negotiation. All in all.

Will France support the U.S. being compensated?

I support the idea to have Ukraine first being compensated because they are the ones who have lost a lot of their fellow citizens and being destroyed by these attacks. Second, all of those who paid for could be compensated, but not by Ukraine, by Russia, because they were the ones to aggress.

Again, just so you understand,

Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. but they get their money back. Now, in fact, to be frank, we paid 60% of the total effort, and it was through, like the U.S., loans, guarantee, grants, and we provided real money, to be clear. We have 230 billion frozen assets in Europe, Russian assets, but this is not as a collateral of a loan because this is not our belonging. So they are frozen. If at the end of the day, in the negotiation we will have with Russia, they're ready to give it to us, super. It will be loaned at the end of the day, and Russia would have paid for that.

This is my wish. It's okay with me. Mr. President, if they get their money back, we don't, and now we do. But, you know, that's only fair. Mr. President,

do you think Russia should be the one that pays everybody back the address?

Well, we're all negotiating everything, and everything is on the table, and we'll see if we can get some land back, and we'll see about a lot of different things, and we're going to be making a little speech and say a few words in a little while. We're going to have another meeting, a luncheon meeting, and we'll see you in about two hours. Okay? Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you, Fred. Thank you, Fred.

Let's go. Let's go. Thank you, Fred. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, guys. Right here. Let it out, Fred. Thank you. Our team.

Our team. Thank you, guys.

Great out. Thank you.