Reports have emerged that French President Emmanuel Macron criticized U.S. President Donald Trump by stating, "He has shown great favor to Putin" in front of him.
According to a report by the French satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné on the 19th (local time), there was a video conference between European leaders and President Trump on the 17th, the day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the United States. During this meeting, President Trump supposedly boasted about his peace mediation accomplishments.
President Trump said, "I am very skilled at stopping wars," and stated, "I achieved peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, India and Pakistan, Rwanda and the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo), and Cambodia and Thailand in just a few months." However, he added, "This is really difficult. This war (the war in Ukraine) is hard to stop."
Nonetheless, he noted, "I succeeded in persuading Putin to come to Alaska. That was very difficult for him."
Following Trump's remarks, European leaders made flattering comments. Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said, "No one but you could make these talks happen."
However, President Macron, one of the last speakers, reportedly assessed Trump's efforts but did not hesitate to criticize him.
President Macron stated at the time, "Putin was excluded from the G8 (Group of Eight), and he could not attend the G20 summit. The best invitation he received in recent years came from North Korea," and added, "Welcoming such a Putin on American soil is both a great honor for him and a way to lift him out of isolation." He further stated, "The one who has shown great favor to Putin is you, Donald, not the other way around."
After hearing Macron's rebuke, President Trump reportedly did not get angry and said, "Emmanuel, come anytime." Subsequently, European leaders from France, Germany, the UK, and Italy supported President Zelensky's trip to the United States on the 18th.