Macron urges Trump to speed up delivery of interceptor missiles to Ukraine

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron met with U.S. President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York.

The talks took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly high-level week; Macron described them as “very constructive.”

The French leader pushed for accelerating the delivery of interceptor missiles to Ukraine and discussed possible ways to halt attacks on energy infrastructure facilities between Kyiv and Moscow.

“We spoke about the need to help our Ukrainian friends faster and more actively — above all when it comes to interceptors, since this is a purely defensive measure,” Macron told reporters after the meeting.

The leaders also discussed an initiative to introduce a moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure facilities. According to Macron, he intended to raise the issue with Volodymyr Zelensky later that same day, Monday.

“If we can achieve this, I think it would be a good goal, but I first want to discuss it with President Zelensky,” Macron said, adding that on Tuesday he would continue talks with both the Ukrainian and American sides.

The idea of an energy sector ceasefire emerged after Trump urged Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries, linking those attacks to pressure on global diesel fuel prices. Zelensky, for his part, stated that Kyiv was ready to halt such strikes on the condition that Russia symmetrically ceased attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

The talks also touched on the Red Sea, where Houthi forces near the Bab-el-Mandeb strait are disrupting commercial shipping. This waterway has grown increasingly important as a transit route after Iran imposed restrictions on passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Macron said the two leaders discussed “ways to improve the security of oil arteries in the Red Sea” and examined diplomatic mechanisms that would allow increased tanker and container ship traffic through Hormuz “without the need for a global agreement.” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the same day that the bloc’s naval mission in the Red Sea needs more than ten warships and called on member states to contribute additional forces.

Before meeting with Trump, Macron arrived in New York from the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, where he met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss Franco-Canadian cooperation on security and energy. A French official said ahead of the meeting with Trump that Macron intended to speak “with complete frankness.” A meeting with Zelensky was also scheduled in New York, as Kyiv and Washington continue talks on security measures and efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.