By Enyichukwu Enemanna
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday hosted three-way talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, and US President-elect Donald Trump in Paris.
Trump held talks with Macron inside the Élysée Palace ahead of the re-opening ceremony for Notre-Dame Cathedral, with Zelensky arriving and immediately joining them.
The trio posed for a picture but made no further public comment before starting the talks.
When he arrived at the Élysée, US President-elect Donald Trump said that the world was “a little crazy” as he met Macron.
The two men embraced and shook hands several times on the steps of the French presidential palace, with Trump given a full guard of honour.
“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 talks with Macron, a meeting which started around 45 minutes later than scheduled.
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.”
Macron told Trump it was “a great honour for French people to welcome you” for the re-opening ceremony at Notre Dame, which was devastated by a blaze in 2019 during Trump’s first term.
“You were president at that time and I remember the solidarity and the immediate reaction,” Macron added, speaking in English.
Zelensky said he had a “productive” meeting with Trump and Macron: “I had a good and productive trilateral meeting with President Donald Trump and President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace,” Zelensky said on social media. “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way,” he added.
