“Peace through force is possible,” says Donald Trump, after meeting Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée

The image is there. Emmanuel Macron, surrounded by Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, serious faces after a short handshake, in the golden salon of the Elysée. The three-way meeting hoped for by the Head of State for several days took place on Saturday December 7. The meeting lasted thirty-five minutes. As they left the palace, the three leaders greeted each other, looking a little more relaxed – Mr. Trump tapping Mr. Zelensky on the forearm when shaking his hand – before heading off for the ceremonies reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris.

The meeting was only agreed at the last minute, in the heat of the moment, so to speak. Arriving forty-three minutes late, Donald Trump first spoke face to face with Emmanuel Macron, before finally accepting the three-way meeting that the Elysée had been offering him for a few days. Then both welcomed together the Ukrainian head of state, who came especially to plead his cause and that of his country to the American president-elect.

During the American electoral campaign, he prided himself on finding a way out of the war started by Russia in “twenty-four hours”while its vice-president, JD Vance, intends to reduce American military support, to force kyiv to negotiate with Moscow.

An “important meeting”, according to Zelensky

Apart from the symbol and the diplomatic coup achieved by Emmanuel Macron, nothing has filtered out on the content of the interviews, apart from a few terse messages. “A good and productive three-way meeting”commented Donald Trump on X: “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just manner”wrote the president-elect, adding “peace through strength is possible”.

“Let us continue joint action for peace and security”Emmanuel Macron tweeted a few moments later. Those around him described the conversation as “very good” and of “substantial”. “Proud of the friendship between the United States and France”Mr. Macron wrote again, “We have so many challenges to face together.”

For his part, Volodymyr Zelensky described, on “good and productive”. He has “ thanked » President-elect Trump whom he judged “as always, resolved”. Like Donald Trump, the Ukrainian president believes that “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a fair way” and that “Peace through strength is possible”. He also thanked the French president for organizing this “important meeting”.

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