VISIT TO TEST MACRONTRUMP ‘BROMANCE’
French president to urge US counterpart not to kill Iran nuclear deal
FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron flew here yesterday on a three-day state visit, expected to test his much-vaunted “friendship” with United States counterpart Donald Trump, as the leaders tackle deep differences over Iran and other key dossiers.
In an interview broadcast on the eve of his departure, Macron rehearsed the arguments he will likely put to the US leader on America’s trade fights, the Syrian conflict, and the imperiled nuclear deal with Teheran that Trump is threatening to quit.
But as the first state visit of the Trump era kicked off yesterday, such thorny issues would be on the back burner — with the warm ties between the 40-year-old French leader and his American host instead on full display.
Less than a year after they shared a meal on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, Trump and First Lady Melania will host Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron for a private dinner at Mount Vernon, the home of the first US president George Washington.
The serious business kicks in today with meetings at the White House followed by a state dinner, and tomorrow the centrist leader will demonstrate his English-language skills in an address to a joint session of Congress.
Iran is set to top the agenda throughout the visit: Trump has set a May 12 deadline for the Europeans to “fix” the agreement that curbs Teheran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, threatening otherwise to walk away.
“I don’t have any Plan B for nuclear — against Iran,” Macron told a television talk show before heading here, arguing that curbing Teheran’s missile programme and containing its regional influence could be accomplished in addition to the 2015 accord.