French President Macron held a trilateral meeting at the Élysée Palace on the 7th with U.S. President-elect Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky to discuss key issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump was invited to attend the reopening ceremony of Notre-Dame de Paris that day.
In the afternoon, Trump first went to the Élysée Palace to meet with Macron, and Zelensky arrived shortly after to join in. The trilateral meeting lasted about 35 minutes.
When Trump prepared to sit down to talk with Macron, he told media reporters, "The world seems a bit crazy now. We will discuss this issue."
After the meeting, Macron posted on social media that the three gathered for Notre-Dame, "Let us continue to act together for peace and security."
Zelensky stated on social media that he had a "good, productive" meeting with Trump and Macron, "We all hope to end the war soon and fairly."
He thanked Macron for arranging the meeting, and stated, "President Trump remains as steadfast as ever, I am grateful to him," and that the three leaders "agreed to continue cooperation and stay in contact."
This meeting is crucial for Zelensky because Kyiv is concerned that Trump, who once claimed he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours, might demand significant concessions from Kyiv to Moscow.
In the evening of the 7th, France held a ceremony at Notre-Dame on the banks of the Seine River to celebrate its reopening after being restored for five years following a fire in 2019.