French president Emmanuel Macron told Donald Trump he did not understand what the US president was “doing on Greenland,” and offered to host a G7 meeting inviting Russia and others, according to a screenshot of the messages Trump posted online.
A screenshot of the full message was posted on Truth Social by Mr Trump this morning. A source in the Élysée confirmed to The Irish Times that the text was genuine.
Macron text to Trump
In the message, Mr Macron told Mr Trump he could invite the Ukrainians, the Danes, the Syrians and the Russians to participate on the margins of the G7 meeting on Thursday, and also invited Trump to have dinner with him in Paris.
Mr Trump’s replies, if any, were not part of the screenshot that he posted on his Truth Social account early on Tuesday morning.
Mr Macron, addressing Trump as his “friend” in the messages, said he was “totally in line” with Mr Trump on Syria, and that they could do “great things on Iran”.
A source close to Mr Macron told Reuters: “It demonstrates that the French president defends the same line in public as in private.”
Mr Trump’s post comes after EU leaders decided over the weekend to convene in Brussels on Thursday evening for an emergency summit following the US leader’s threats to impose new tariffs on goods from several European countries over his demand to acquire Greenland.
Mr Macron has called Trump’s threat of tariffs over Greenland unacceptable.
The Truth Social post appeared hours after the US president said he will impose a 200 per cent tariff on French wines and champagnes, a move he said would push Macron to join Trump’s “Board of Peace” initiative for Gaza.
It was not immediately clear when the messages from Mr Macron to MrTrump were sent.
Mr Macron is scheduled to arrive at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday morning, and return to Paris on Tuesday evening, Elysee aides said on Monday, adding there were no plans to extend his stay to Wednesday, when Mr Trump arrives in the Swiss town.
In December the French president said Europe will have to re-engage in direct talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin if the latest US-led efforts to broker a Ukraine peace deal founder.
Last week, Mr Macron said France was now providing two-thirds of intelligence information to Ukraine, largely replacing the United States. – Additional reporting by Reuters