French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly warned that the United States could "betray Ukraine" in ongoing peace talks with Russia, a leaked call allegedly revealed.
The news threatened to widen friction between European capitals and the Trump administration as Washington presses a high-stakes deal to end the war.
German magazine Der Spiegel obtained and summarized an English transcript of a private call on Monday between Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and other European leaders, according to reports in outlets including Reuters.
The transcript allegedly quotes Macron telling Zelenskyy, "There is a chance that the U.S. will betray Ukraine on territory without clarity on security guarantees," warning of "a big danger" if Kyiv is pressured into a deal it cannot defend.
Merz, leading Germany's new government, also voiced doubts about Washington's approach, telling Zelenskyy that U.S. negotiators are "playing games" and urging him to be "very careful" in the coming days, Der Spiegel's account said.
Several outlets interpreted those remarks as a direct reference to President Donald Trump's envoys, real estate executive Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have drafted and carried a U.S. proposal in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The 28-point plan, first detailed by Axios, would require Ukraine to surrender additional territory, accept permanent limits on its military, and abandon efforts to join NATO, terms critics in Kyiv and Europe have branded a "Russian wish list."
After an outcry, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian negotiators rewrote the Geneva framework, cutting several of the most contentious provisions and reducing it to 19 points while leaving borders open to further negotiation.
Macron has warned publicly for weeks against any settlement that would look like capitulation.
"We want peace. But not a peace that is in essence a capitulation, which puts Ukraine in an impossible situation, which gives Russia all the guarantees and us none," Macron said in a recent interview about the U.S. plan.
Earlier this year, he argued that Putin would have "once again played President Trump" if Moscow had met a U.S. deadline for talks that later slipped, signaling his discomfort with Washington-driven timelines.
The Elysee Palace has pushed back on the leaked wording, telling reporters, "The president did not express himself in these words," but declined to specify what Macron did say on the call.
Several officials who were briefed on the discussion told Der Spiegel the summary was accurate in substance but refused to confirm individual quotes because the conversation was confidential.
The Trump administration has intensified its diplomatic push even as key elements of the proposal remain in flux.
Trump said this week that talks between his envoys and Putin were "very good" but acknowledged the path to a final deal is unclear, according to Reuters.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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