Macron, Zelensky, Trump discuss 'crazy' world
France’s President Emmanuel Macron, US president-elect Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky wait to pose before a meeting at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris. Photo: AFP
President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday hosted three-way talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, discussing what the American president-elect termed a world that was a "little crazy".
Zelensky's meeting with Trump just before the three men headed to Notre Dame for the re-opening ceremony of the great Paris cathedral was his first face-to-face meeting with tycoon-turned-politician since his election victory.
The meeting was of huge importance to Zelensky given the fears in Kyiv that Trump, who once boasted he could end Russia's war on Ukraine in 24 hours, may urge Ukraine to make concessions to Moscow.
It offered a unique chance for Macron to gain insights into how a second Trump presidency will shape out when he takes office in January, with the trip to Paris his first international visit since the election win.
Trump and Macron embraced and shook hands several times on the steps of the French presidential palace, with Trump given a full guard of honour despite not yet being in office.
"It seems like the world is going a little crazy right now and we will be talking about that," Trump told reporters as he prepared to sit down for the talks with Macron.
Despite tensions between the two men during his first term, Trump hailed his ties with the centrist French leader, saying: "We had a great relationship as everyone knows. We accomplished a lot."