French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday sought to correct his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, regarding the nature of European support for Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
During Oval Office talks, Macron interrupted Trump mid-sentence to clarify what he described as a misstatement of facts.
“Just so you understand, Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They are getting their money back,” Trump began, as he prepared to argue for a new deal to secure Ukraine’s mineral revenues as back-payment for U.S. assistance.
At that point, Macron reached over to grab Trump’s arm and interject.
The French president stated: “No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60% of the total effort. It was like the U.S.: loans, guarantees, grants.
“We have $230 billion in frozen assets in Europe—Russian assets. But this is not collateral for a loan because it does not belong to us. They are simply frozen.”
Trump, however, appeared to dismiss the correction, responding: “If you believe that, it’s OK with me. They get their money back, and we don’t. But now we do.”
Macron had earlier stated that he was visiting the U.S. to “reaffirm” his “unwavering” support for Ukraine.
“For sovereignty and freedom. Our support for Ukraine will remain unwavering,” Macron wrote on X.
