Donald Trump will return to the international stage today as he joins French President Emmanuel Macron at the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, five years after a devastating fire.
Macron’s decision to invite Trump has been described as a “diplomatic coup” by the French press, in large part because it’s expected that some form of negotiations will take place in Paris over the future of Ukraine.
Macron is set to hold successive meetings with Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky; although it’s unclear whether Trump and Zelensky will speak directly with each other.
The French President has been extremely keen to court Trump. He Tweeted his congratulations to Trump some hours before many major news outlets had called the presidential race, and spoke to Trump on the phone the same day.
The visit comes as Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports that Western powers are preparing a “golden exile” for Ukraine’s premier, with new presidential and parliamentary elections to be held. Zelensky will be sent to London and provided with security.
So far there has been no confirmation of the report, but it is, at least, a strong sign that Europe’s elites are preparing for an end to the war in Ukraine, which has dragged on for over two years.
In recent weeks, after the use of American and British long-range weapons systems for strikes deep inside Russian territory, the potential for catastrophic escalation has never been greater.
El Mundo also claims that Ukraine would be admitted to the European Union and peacekeeping forces provided by the UK and France would be deployed in the country.
The paper also notes that Trump’s new special representative for Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, has suggested that any further US aid for Ukraine will be dependent on the country participating in peace talks with Russia, and the creation of a demilitarized zone in the country.
First Lady Jill Biden is also expected to attend the ceremony at Notre Dame, in what will be her last official engagement abroad.
Macron has also made clear his wish to invite Trump and SpaceX and Twitter CEO Elon Musk to Paris in February for a summit about the future of AI.