French President Emmanuel Macron described his meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York as “very constructive,” with the two leaders focusing on the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters after the encounter, Macron said they had a “very good discussion” and that Trump was “very amenable,” allowing them to go into detail on the two crises. The French leader had arrived in New York from Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the small French territory off Canada's Atlantic coast, where he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea shipping
Macron said there was a shared “willingness to reopen” the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil and gas shipments that has been effectively blockaded by Iran during the ongoing Middle East war. He noted that “several solutions were discussed” that could, without a comprehensive agreement, allow more container ships and tankers to pass through. He declined to give specifics.
The Red Sea was also on the agenda. With Hormuz closed, the Red Sea has become a critical alternative route, but attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi forces have made navigation hazardous. Macron stressed that ensuring safe passage there is “important for global prices.”
Ukraine: pressing for more interceptors
On Russia's war against Ukraine, Macron said he pressed Trump on the need to supply Kyiv with more defensive weapons systems. The two discussed “the need to help our Ukrainian friends faster and more strongly in terms of (missile) interceptors, because that is...a defensive measure,” the French president explained.
In a post on X, Macron added that they also talked about “the prospect of an energy truce and a moratorium in the Black Sea.” He said he would raise the same topic with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he met on the sidelines of the General Assembly on Monday. “It is clear that today we need to help Ukraine's energy system,” Macron told reporters.
The French president's push comes as European allies grow increasingly concerned about the sustainability of Ukraine's air defences. Ukraine has warned EU member states against weakening sanctions on Russia, while Trump and Zelenskyy are set to meet at the UN as the EU's sanctions deadline slips.
Macron's meeting with Trump was described by a French official as one in which the president was prepared to speak with “total candour.” The French leader said the discussions were “obviously important for peace in the world and for our security.”
The talks come at a delicate moment for transatlantic relations, with European capitals watching closely how the Trump administration handles both the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. Macron's emphasis on defensive systems reflects a broader European push to frame military aid to Kyiv as a protective measure rather than an escalation.
