On the eve of his three-day state visit to Washington, French President Emmanuel Macron warned against trade wars, being "weak" on Russia and touted the benefits of the Iran nuclear deal in a wide-ranging interview with Fox News Sunday.
Macron told the network that he and US President Donald Trump have a strong relationship because they are both a “maverick of the system”. Macron is due to arrive Monday in Washington, where he will be fêted with the first state visit of the Trump presidency.
The United States, France and Britain most recently cooperated in launching air strikes against suspected chemical weapons facilities in Syria after an alleged poison gas attack in Douma in Eastern Ghouta.
Macron said that if the international community withdraws from Syria, it will leave the country in the grip of the Iranian regime and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“And they will prepare the new war,” he warned. “They will fuel the new terrorists.”
“Even after the end of the war against ISIS (Islamic State group), the US, France, our allies, all the countries of the region – even Russian and Turkey – will have a very important role to play in order to create this new Syria,” he said.
Macron went on to discuss US plans for imposing new steel and aluminum tariffs, reiterating that Europe should be spared from these duties, just days before a temporary grace period is due to expire.
"I hope ... he will decide for an exemption for the European Union," Macron said.
"You don't make trade war with your allies," he added.
Trump announced last month the United States would impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, claiming foreign imports were harming US national security by undermining the domestic production needed for military readiness.
A temporary exemption for the largest foreign sources of the metals – including Europe, Canada and Mexico – is due to expire on May 1.
US and European trade officials last month announced Washington and Brussels had launched a series of talks to resolve the dispute but whether any progress has been made remains unclear.
"He says exemptions till May first," Macron said. "Let's see what he will decide on May first. I just say, Where are your priorities?"
"If you make war against everybody – you make trade war against China, trade war against Europe, war in Syria, war against Iran – come on, it doesn't work," Macron said.
He added: "We are the allies."
French leader @EmmanuelMacron tells @FoxNewsSunday he has a 'very special relationship' with President @realDonaldTrump, says they both followed unusual paths to political power. Watch the full interview today at 2p and 7p ET on Fox News Channel. https://t.co/McwXwXqfX1 pic.twitter.com/DIzWniRIRg— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 22, 2018
'Don't be naive' on Russia
Macron also warned against showing any weakness towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he said was determined to interfere in democratic processes abroad.
"He's strong and smart. But don't be naive. He's obsessed by interference in our democracies," Macron told Fox News Sunday ahead of his departure for the United States, where Russia stands accused of meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
"I do believe that we should never be weak with President Putin. When you are weak, he uses it," Macron said in the English-language interview.
"And it's fine. That's a game, that he made a lot of fake news. He has a very strong propaganda, and he intervenes everywhere ... to fragilise our democracies. Because he thinks it's good for his country," Macron said.
"I think he's a very strong man, he's a strong president. He wants a great Russia," added the French leader. "He is extremely tough with minorities and his opponents, with an idea of democracy which is not mine."
"I respect him. I know him. I'm lucid. I want to work with him, knowing everything about that," Macron said, who described himself as having a "permanent discussion" with Putin, although they were "disaligned on a lot of things".
PHILIP CROWTHER REPORTS FROM WASHINGTON
Relations with Russia will be one of the issues topping the agenda this week with Trump, whose time in office has been clouded by suspicion that his campaign conspired with Russia to tilt the election in his favour and by his own ambivalent attitude to Moscow.
No 'Plan B' for Iran
Whether Macron can have any real influence on Trump will be tested Monday when the young French leader arrives in Washington. And European diplomats have a lot invested in what seems a tricky task in trying to convince the US leader not to scrap the hard-fought Iran nuclear deal.
There is not much time. Trump is due to decide by May 12 whether talks with Paris, Berlin and London on tougher anti-Iran measures have advanced far enough. If he feels the "flaws" in the 2015 deal have not been adequately repaired, he may decide to withdraw his support, opening the way for renewed US sanctions that could torpedo the whole accord.
Europe would see this as a disaster, both in terms of the deal itself – a central plank in their non-proliferation strategy – and in terms of relations with Washington.
If anyone can talk down Trump, it might be Macron, who has better relations with the White House than either his British counterpart Theresa May or German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Paris was the first European ally to suggest tougher measures against Iran's ballistic missile programmes to "supplement" the nuclear deal – but will that suffice?
Trump also wants to reform the agreement itself to end the so-called "sunset clauses" that would allow Iran to progressively restart parts of its nuclear programme after 2025.
Macron has urged Trump not to scrap the deal in the absence of an alternative.
"I don't have any Plan B for nuclear [policies] against Iran," Macron said, arguing that working to curb Tehran's missile programme and contain its regional influence could be accomplished within the framework of the 2015 accord.
"So that's a question we will discuss," he said.
Iran, for its part, warned Saturday that it is ready to "vigorously" resume nuclear enrichment if the United States ditches the nuclear deal.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP, REUTERS)
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