I think Ukrainians are more worried than ever about the pressure they’re being put under and now, of course, supporters of President Trump - apologists for the way he works - say that he throws out verbal gambits to make people drop long-held positions to make a deal.

French President intends to tell Donald Trump that it’s in the joint interest of Americans and Europeans not to “be weak” in the face of Vladimir Putin.

President Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss issues including the war in Ukraine, where the two have expressed starkly different views. Macron has argued that any negotiated end to the war must come with “strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians,

Sitting beside the French president, Mr Trump pointedly declined to call Vladimir Putin a dictator, saying “I don’t use those words lightly.” Mr Macron seemed cautiously upbeat about his visit to the White House.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he will travel to Washington to try to convince President Donald Trump that his interests were in line with European allies and that showing any weakness to Russia's Vladimir Putin would make it harder to deal with China and Iran.

At a meeting at the White House, President Trump declined to call President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a dictator while President Emmanuel Macron of France stated flatly that “the aggressor is Russia.