The visit was scheduled two days before during a call between Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron. The American president-elect confirmed, Monday, December 2, his arrival in Paris for the reopening, Saturday, of Notre-Dame Cathedral, among around fifty foreign heads of state and government. “ It will be a very special day for everyone! »he wrote on his network, Truth Social: “President Emmanuel Macron has done a tremendous job so that Notre-Dame regains all its splendor, and much more”he clarified. During the fire, on April 15, 2019, Donald Trump, then in the White House, suggested in a widely commented tweet to send water bombers to control the fire.
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This will be the Republican’s first trip abroad, one month after his election, and six weeks before his inauguration, while the composition of his government is fueling concerns about his international intentions, in Ukraine of course, but also in the Middle East. After a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon, fighting continues in the Gaza Strip. The new administration, very close to the government of Benyamin Netanyahu, intends to put the “maximum pressure” on Tehran, at a time when France, Germany and the United Kingdom are instead seeking to relaunch negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.
Ukrainian issues
During their telephone conversation on Saturday, Mr. Macron and Mr. Trump quickly addressed these issues. They agreed to continue their discussions on the sidelines of the ceremonies at Notre-Dame. It is also not impossible that the arrival of Donald Trump will spark that of Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, who is very keen to establish dialogue with the elected Republican. The latter relentlessly criticized American military support for kyiv and claimed to resolve the conflict “in twenty-four hours”although Vladimir Putin still refuses any negotiation, at a time when his forces are advancing in the east of the country.
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Against a backdrop of escalation in the conflict, Mr. Zelensky conditions his participation in possible discussions at the “security guarantees” that its Western allies could grant it in order to prevent any new Russian offensive. “Ukraine’s invitation to join NATO is necessary for our survival”he insisted, Sunday 1is December, in kyiv, receiving the new leaders of the European Union. The United States, like Germany, is opposed to rushing Ukraine’s integration into the Atlantic Alliance, unlike France and the United Kingdom, who say they are ready to grant kyiv the“invitation to NATO”demanded by Mr. Zelensky. The latter has not yet confirmed his presence at the reopening of Notre-Dame, but he is seriously considering it.
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