Emmanuel Macron has shared the bleak reality about the state of the US’s relationship with Ukraine in a surprisingly candid moment.
Around 50 world leaders, including UK prime minister Andy Burnham, will gather in Dublin today for a meeting of the European Political Community (EPC).
One of the topics on the table is the Ukraine-Russia war as Europeans leaders decide who should represent the continent in future negotiations.
Speaking to the media on the fringes of the event, French president Macron emphasised why it was important to have a European ally at the table with Ukraine.
He said: “Without Europeans, there is no support for Ukraine. Let’s be honest.”
He continued: “There is no more US support. They raised some mediations. Fine. But at the end of the day, we will be the one to define and decide for our future security as Europeans, I have no doubt.”
His remarks come a day after US representatives, Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, hosted trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi with Ukrainian and Russian delegates.
The EU was represented by senior civil servants in a separate, wider meeting, rather than by any leaders.
Kushner said this week: “If Europe could identify one person to speak on their behalf, that would be a bigger achievement than getting the Russians to include them in the negotiations.”
While the American team said they saw “some openings” for compromise over the two-day event, there was no clear breakthrough in the talks.
Trump is determined to end the war on any terms possible, having insisted he could resolve the war within 24 hours of his second term in office back in January 2025.
Almost five years on from Vladimir Putin’s land grab, Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine’s sovereign land, including part of the Donbas region to the east.
Russian negotiators are calling for Ukraine to hand over the entire Donbas area as a compromise, though Kyiv has refused.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was clear Putin “lived in a different reality”.
Kushner and Witkoff have now travelled to Moscow for further talks with the Kremlin over a potential peace deal.
America has gradually been pulling its support for Ukraine ever since Trump’s second term began.
In March 2025, the Trump administration suspended all military aid to Kyiv after falling out with Zelenskyy, leaving European nations to buying weapons off America and send them to Ukraine.
Trump also shocked his allies by striking up a sanctions-busting diesel deal with Russia in October and called for Zelenskyy to be ousted from office.
Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
