US, France align on Ukraine-Russia peace but split over aid fairness

U.S. President Donald Trump and visiting French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday agreed on realizing lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia, but Macron publicly refuted Trump's claim that the situation was "unfair" to the United States in terms of how the country and its European allies provided aid to Ukraine, reported Xinhua.

During a joint press conference after a bilateral meeting at the White House, Trump said that he believed Macron agreed with him on many important issues. "Chief among them is -- this is the right time (to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict). It may be the only time," he said.

Macron said he and Trump made "substantive steps forward" during their talks, adding that after speaking with Trump, "I fully believe that there is a path forward" and that they "share the same beliefs" on forging a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.

However, the French leader emphasized that this peace must not mean "a surrender of Ukraine" nor "a ceasefire without guarantees."

"This peace must allow for Ukrainian sovereignty and allow Ukraine to negotiate with other stakeholders," he noted.

Macron said that the two talked about details of the security guarantees for Ukraine. "There are Europeans that are ready to engage, to provide for these security guarantees, and now there's a clear American message that the United States as an ally is ready to provide that solidarity for that approach."

He called this a "turning point" and considered it one of the significant areas of progress made during the trip and discussions.

Earlier that day, Trump and Macron delivered brief remarks to reporters in the Oval Office, openly expressing their differences regarding the way the United States and Europe have provided aid to Ukraine.

"Just so you understand, Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They're getting their money back," Trump said as he made the case for Washington's ongoing effort to press Ukraine into signing a deal that would give the United States the right to extract Ukraine's rare earth minerals as a way to recoup the aid money provided by Washington during the conflict.

Grabbing Trump's arm to interject, Macron said, "No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60 percent of the total effort." He went on to clarify that European aid to Ukraine was structured similarly to American aid. "It was like the United States: loans, guarantees, grants."

Shrugging off Macron's interjection, Trump said, "If you believe that, it's OK with me. They get their money back, and we don't. But now we do."

On the mineral deal with Ukraine, Trump said he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "this week or next" at the White House, and a final deal on "rare earths and various other things" is very close.

Macron and Trump also mentioned the proposal by France and Britain that European countries send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to ensure the implementation of the peace deal with Russia.

"We have been working closely with our British partners these past weeks. We've shared this with other European countries and allies wanting to join," said Macron. "It could include troops to observe that the peace is respected. They would not be along the front lines; they would not be part of any conflict."

Trump, who has made clear that no U.S. boots will be on the ground in Ukraine, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was fine with European troops being deployed to Ukraine for peacekeeping missions.

"Yeah, he will accept that. I've asked him that question," Trump said of Putin. "Troops may go into Ukraine as peacemakers, so when the agreement is done, they can watch that everything is followed properly. I don't think that's going to be a problem."