Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron has issued a sharp warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have effectively “played” U.S. President Donald Trump if he fails to follow through on Trump’s public call for a direct meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday, Macron emphasized that the credibility of Trump’s mediation push and by extension, Western diplomatic pressure hangs in the balance as the deadline for such a meeting draws near.
Macron’s remarks came after Trump announced earlier this month that he expected Putin and Zelenskiy to sit down “within a week or two,” setting Monday as the effective deadline. While Zelenskiy quickly embraced the proposal, publicly reminding the international community that “the two weeks end on Monday,” Moscow has offered no signal of willingness to comply. Macron, who has increasingly positioned himself as a voice of urgency in Europe’s handling of the war, warned that a lack of movement would not only demonstrate Putin’s refusal to engage but would also expose the U.S. president as having been misled by the Kremlin.
Chancellor Merz, standing beside Macron in a joint press conference, was even more blunt in his assessment. He suggested that it already seems “clear there will be no meeting” between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, a statement that underlines growing skepticism in European capitals about Moscow’s diplomatic intentions. The German leader’s candid tone echoed the frustration felt within NATO, where officials fear that repeated delays and evasions are cementing Russia’s advantage both on the battlefield and in the diplomatic arena.
Macron’s intervention underscores a broader unease in Europe regarding Trump’s high-profile but unpredictable diplomatic style. While Trump has boasted of his ability to end wars and floated himself as a peacemaker deserving of a Nobel Prize, Western allies are wary that his pressure tactics could collapse into empty threats if Putin refuses to engage. By openly suggesting that Putin might be “playing” the U.S. leader, Macron signaled both concern over Trump’s approach and the urgent need for accountability in dealing with the Kremlin.
For Kyiv, the stakes could not be higher. Zelenskiy has leaned on international visibility to sustain military and financial support for Ukraine’s defense, and a summit with Putin however symbolic would at least mark progress in holding Moscow to dialogue. The absence of such a meeting risks isolating Ukraine further and undermining confidence in Trump’s capacity to deliver results. With the Monday deadline looming, the world’s attention has shifted to whether the Russian president will seize the moment or deepen the standoff by refusing to show up at the negotiating table.