Donald Trump “did not like” being called out by Emmanuel Macron during a high-stakes call with European leaders, ahead of his bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin.
The French president took “very tough positions,” and reportedly told Trump Wednesday that a meeting was “a very big thing” to give Putin, sources familiar with the call told Axios.
"Trump didn't like that,” the source added.
The U.S. president is set to meet with his authoritarian Russian counterpart on Friday in Alaska, the first time Putin has set foot on American soil since 2015. The pair will discuss bringing about an end to the Russian war in Ukraine, which has raged since February 2022.
Trump told the European leaders, which included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that his goals for the summit were to secure a ceasefire and to better understand whether a full peace is possible.
As well as Macron’s hardline position, Axios reported that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte were both "very active" on the call, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni "raised some good points."
Zelensky, who at this stage will not be present at Friday’s meeting, told Trump that Putin “cannot be trusted,” the outlet’s source added.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting on Wednesday, Trump said that he could not guarantee success on the ceasefire, and his administration previously described the meeting as a
However, Trump also added that Putin would face “severe consequences” if the Russian leader does not agree to a ceasefire, though he did not specify exactly what those consequences would be.
Russia is likely to resist Ukraine and Europe's demands strongly and previously said its stance had not changed since it was set out by Putin in June 2024.
When asked if Russia would face any consequences if Putin does not agree to stop the war after Friday’s meeting, Trump responded: “Yes, they will.” Asked if those consequences would be sanctions or tariffs, Trump told reporters: “I don't have to say, there will be very severe consequences."
The president also described another aim of the meeting as "setting the table" for a quick follow-up that would include Zelensky. "If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one," he said.
"I would like to do it almost immediately, and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskiy and myself, if they'd like to have me there."
Trump did not provide a time frame for a second meeting.
