Macron’s White House mission is to persuade the US to stay in Syria
EMMANUEL MACRON will today urge Donald Trump to keep the United States engaged in Syria for the long run as the pair meet in the White House.
The French president is expected to warn that new terrorist threats could emerge if the US disengages from the country as it remains locked in civil war.
The White House has confirmed that a “way ahead in Syria” will be discussed in what officials predicted will be a “full and free airing of points of view” with Mr Macron.
America’s Syrian policy is up in the air as Mr Trump balances his instinctive opposition to foreign intervention with a determination to police a “red line” over chemical weapons use.
Mr Trump said last month that American troops would withdraw from Syria “very soon”, only to be convinced by advisers to stay for the time being to defeat the last remaining Isil fighters. Just weeks later, the US president sanctioned air strikes on Syrian regime facilities alongside Britain and France to punish Bashar al-assad, the Syrian dictator, for a chemical weapons attack.
Mr Macron, who arrived in Washington DC yesterday for a three-day state visit, was said to have played a central role in convincing Mr Trump to approve the strikes.
Mr Macron also used a Fox News interview on Sunday to declare that pulling out of Syria would “leave the floor to the Iranian regime” and Assad, adding: “They will fuel the new terrorists.”
The US president has repeatedly criticised his country’s involvement in the Middle East, saying that America has got “nothing” from the trillions of pounds spent in the region in the last few decades. A decision over future Syrian engagement has become more pressing amid Russian media reports that the Kremlin is considering further arming Assad’s forces.
The Kommersant newspaper quoted diplomatic and military sources as saying that Russia was planning to give S-300 surface-to-air missiles to the Syrian government in the “near future”.
The move would anger Israel, which helped quash a similar move in 2013, and increase volatility in the region. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, yesterday said that no final decision had been taken.
Mr Macron was given a red-carpet welcome yesterday as he arrived with his wife Brigitte, becoming the first world leader to embark on a state visit to the US under Mr Trump.
The Macrons were due to have a private couples dinner with the Trumps at Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, America’s first president, last night.
Mr Macron will also be given a “review of the troops” with 500 US soldiers in attendance, mirroring a military march that Mr Trump attended during his Paris visit.
Mr Macron and Mr Trump will have a one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office today.
As well as Syria, the two leaders are expected to discuss the Iran nuclear deal, US steel tariffs on the EU and the Paris climate change agreement.
Germany is reportedly considering a major new round of defence spending, including an estimated €1 billion (£875 million) on new drone aircraft over the next nine years.
The move comes amid concerns that the country’s defence spending is lagging behind that of allies and questions over its ability to meet its Nato commitments.
‘Pulling out of Syria would leave the floor to the Iranian regime and Assad... They will fuel the new terrorists’