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French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and U.S President Donal Trump thumb up at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Saturday Nov.10.(PTI)[/caption]
Paris, Nov. 10 (AFP): French President Emmanuel Macron attempted to defuse a row with visiting US counterpart Donald Trump on Saturday, hailing the “great solidarity” between their countries after Trump blasted his proposals for a European army.
The two leaders held talks at the presidential palace in Paris ahead of World War 1 commemorations taking place in the shadow of a new nationalist surge worldwide.
Their body language was markedly less warm than during Trump’s last visit to Paris in July 2017, underscoring a general cooling in relations which were further strained by a late-night tweet by Trump attacking Macron.
Appearing anxious to appease Trump, who has accused the EU of failing to pull its weight on NATO spending, Macron said he shared his view that “we need a much better burden-sharing within NATO”.
His calls for closer European integration on defence would mean “more Europe in NATO”, he argued, later patting Trump’s knee affectionately.
Trump, who appeared more aloof, described himself and Macron as “very good friends” and said he “appreciated” the remarks about burden sharing.
“We want a strong Europe. It’s very important to us to have a strong Europe,” he said.
Trump says Macron’s call for European Army ‘very insulting’
US President Donald Trump Saturday said the suggestion of his French counterpart Emanuel Macron that Europe should build its own army was “very insulting”, asserting that Europe should first pay its “fair share” to NATO.
Trump slammed Macron in a tweet, moments after he landed in Paris for a weekend trip to commemorate Armistice Day and attend the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, which is being attended by several world leaders, including India’s Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.
“President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!” he said in a tweet.
Early this week, Macron had pushed for a “true European Army” that would address the threat posed by countries like Russia and China. “We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America,” he told French Radio Station One.
“Who is the main victim? Europe and its security. I want to build a real security dialogue with Russia, which is a country I respect, a European country but we must have a Europe that can defend itself on its own without relying only on the United States,” Macron said.
Trump’s tweet just after landing in Paris that was highly critical of Macron is expected to strain the US-French relationship. Early this year, Trump had hosted Macron on the first State Dinner of his Administration. Trump and Macron are schedule to have bilateral meeting during his stay in France.
