US President Donald Trump on Tuesday met his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The meeting comes days after France recognised Palestinian statehood, a move that has not gone down well with the US.
Trump, Macron disagree on Palestinian statehood
Trump has called the move, from France and several other nations, a gift to Hamas.
“I think it honors Hamas and you can’t do that because of Oct. 7,” Trump told reporters as he sat next to Macron.
President Donald Trump meets with French President Emmanuel Macron, during the United Nations General Assembly. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The French leader stressed the horror of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack but added: “After almost two years of war,” what is the result?
There are “as many Hamas fighters as you had the first day,” Macron continued.
‘France ready to respond to Israel’
Earlier, Macron told French broadcaster BFM TV that France was ready to respond if Israel imposed sanctions on his country over its recognition of the state of Palestine.
“If it were to happen, we would respond; we would be ready. We are ready for everything. But I believe that in this moment, we must choose a path of peace and a path of friendship,” Macron said.
‘Trump can win Prize if he stops Gaza conflict’
He also suggested that Trump could only win the Nobel Peace Prize if he stopped the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians over Gaza.
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President Donald Trump meets with French President Emmanuel Macron, during the United Nations General Assembly. (Photo: AP)
According to Macron, “there is only one person who could do something in the current situation — the American president.”
“I see an American president who is mobilized and who said this morning [to the General Assembly] ‘I want peace, I will solve this conflict.’ Who wants the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize is only possible if you stop this conflict,” he said.
