Donald Trump, who is making his first foreign trip to France since his election on November 5, first arrived alone at the Elysée Palace, around 3:45 p.m. GMT. Zelensky in turn set foot on the gravel of the courtyard of the presidential palace less than an hour later, for this trilateral meeting “decided somewhat at the last moment”, according to a French diplomatic source.
Trump and Zelensky shook hands for a long time then the three men posed, looking serious, in front of photographers in a lounge at the Elysée, before beginning their discussions behind closed doors.
This meeting is of crucial importance for Volodymyr Zelensky, who has only had a brief telephone discussion with Donald Trump since the latter’s election in early November.
The future American president has repeatedly affirmed that he intends to strongly distance himself from the policy of massive support for kyiv led by Joe Biden in the war caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Very critical of the billions of dollars in aid released by the United States to militarily support Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, Trump promised to resolve the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours”, without specifying how.
kyiv, for its part, wants to approach a possible peace negotiation with Russia from a position of strength and with sufficient security guarantees.
Several NATO countries, led by the United States, are however reluctant to invite Ukraine to join the Atlantic Alliance, as requested by kyiv.
“Too many lives have been lost in vain”
After his interview with Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday at the Élysée, US President-elect Donald Trump called this Sunday, December 8, for an “immediate ceasefire” and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, on his Truth platform. Social.
Macron brings Trump and Zelensky together at the Élysée, a diplomatic coup in the midst of a domestic political crisis.
“Too many lives have been lost in vain, too many families have been destroyed, and if this continues, it could turn into something bigger, and much worse,” he wrote, asserting that Ukraine lost “ridiculously” 400,000 soldiers and “many more civilians”.
Upon his arrival at the Elysée, Trump underlined his “excellent relations” with the French president, with whom he exchanged warm handshakes, on the steps of the presidential palace, in front of the Republican Guard in full pomp.
“Welcome back,” said Emmanuel Macron, who has been in office at the Elysée since 2017, and who had already spent a long time with Trump during his first presidential term, from 2017 to 2021.
