Macron says talks with Trump on Red Sea, Ukraine ‘constructive’

French President Emmanuel Macron was previously said to be prepared to face Donald Trump with “total candour”.

WASHINGTON – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sept 21 he had positive talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the conflicts in Ukraine and in the Red Sea.

“The other issue we talked about was the situation in the Red Sea... It’s important for global prices. Then we had a long discussion about Ukraine and Russia,” said Macron after their New York meeting.

“We had a very good discussion. It was very constructive.”

Going into the high-stakes meeting ahead of the United Nations’ high-level week, a French official briefed that Macron was prepared to face Trump with “total candour”.

On the Ukraine-Russia war, Macron said he has pressed Trump on the issue of supplying defensive weapons systems to Ukraine.

They discussed “the need to help our Ukrainian friends faster and more strongly in terms of (missile) interceptors, because that is... a defensive measure,” Macron said.

The French president said Trump was “very amenable and we were able to go into detail on these two conflicts, which are obviously important for peace in the world and for our security”.

The Red Sea has become a key oil shipping route with the Strait of Hormuz blocked, but the takeover of the Strait of Bab al-Mandab by pro-Yemeni rebels has complicated shipping operations there.

Macron traveled to New York from Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a small French territory off Canada’s Atlantic coast, where he met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Carney has been embroiled in a war of words with Trump over a failed effort between the US and Canada to strike a trade deal, resulting in tit-for-tat tariffs.

The French president also plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. AFP