Macron says Trump talks on Ukraine, Red Sea constructive

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that his New York talks with US President Donald Trump on Ukraine and the Red Sea were “very constructive”.

Macron spoke after meeting Trump ahead of the United Nations high-level week. He said the two leaders discussed the Red Sea, which he linked to global prices, and had a long discussion about Ukraine and Russia.

On Ukraine, Macron said he pressed Trump on the need to help Kyiv “faster and more strongly” with defensive missile interceptors.

The French president said Trump was “very amenable” and that they were able to go into detail on both conflicts, which he described as important for world peace and security.

Before the meeting, a French official said Macron was prepared to speak to Trump with “total candor” and would encourage him to maintain support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia.

The Red Sea has become a key oil shipping route with the Strait of Hormuz blocked, but shipping there has been complicated by the takeover of the Bab al-Mandab Strait by pro-Yemeni rebels.

Macron travelled to New York from Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory off Canada's Atlantic coast, where he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Macron also plans to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.