French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were caught on a hot mic discussing Donald Trump as they walked the grounds of the Hotel Royal at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. “Yesterday, we had a difficult discussion in front of the camera,” Macron is heard saying of a meeting with the US president regarding the war in Ukraine. He urged Zelensky to stay longer at the three-day summit, but the Ukrainian leader said he was scheduled to visit Brussels the next day. Macron also asked whether Zelensky had a “bilateral [unintelligible] being organised”, to which Zelensky replied: “With President Trump?” The two spoke in hushed tones for about 20 seconds before Macron said: “OK, I will arrange that.”
The hot mic moment came as G7 leaders emerged from the first full day of talks unexpectedly optimistic about their relationship with the White House, according to two senior EU diplomats. Trump’s apparent openness to increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his war against Ukraine, and his need for help from allies to stabilise a framework ceasefire agreement with Iran, appeared to be taking shape. “The discussions we’ve had among ourselves and with the US president – both in official meetings and in informal encounters on the sidelines – give me a certain sense of optimism,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told journalists.
“Macron and Zelensky caught on hot mic discussing Trump at G7 as leaders strike cautious optimism”
Ukrainian President Zelensky said G7 leaders, including Trump, agreed that the tide has turned and Moscow is losing ground. “The entire ‘Seven’ supports Ukraine unanimously today,” he said. He added that leaders supported Ukraine’s need for more Patriot missiles and discussed how to increase production through licensing agreements. According to a French diplomat familiar with the talks, G7 leaders agreed to ramp up pressure on Russia, notably through sanctions targeting its oil and natural gas sectors. Since Trump cut back US aid to Ukraine, France and other European allies have become the biggest providers of military and financial support to Kyiv.
However, diplomats cautioned against being too optimistic, pointing out that Trump has previously reversed himself after making pro-Ukraine statements. Trump, who just celebrated his 80th birthday by hosting mixed martial arts cage fights on the White House lawn, held a nearly hour-long phone call with Putin on Sunday, which compounded fears that he could snap back to pressuring Ukraine to cede territory.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer attended the summit amid slipping authority at home. He has met Trump for the first time since their row over the Iran air strikes in March, but is deliberately using what could be his last appearance on the world stage to bank his legacy.
Switzerland’s foreign ministry said a signing ceremony for a deal between the US and Iran will take place on Friday at the Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne. The initial agreement would extend their fragile ceasefire and lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has throttled a substantial portion of the world’s supply of oil, gas and other commodities. In Britain, farmers have faced a rise in fertiliser prices of between 50 and 70 per cent, hitting greenhouse and arable operations.