Macron and Trump have ‘frank conversation’ minutes before European meeting on Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron and his American counterpart Donald Trump spoke on the phone minutes before Macron greeted European dignitaries who had gathered to discuss security in Paris.

The French president's office said the "frank conversation" lasted 20 minutes.

The call came as European leaders are scrambling to come up with a unified response to the upheaval posed by Trump's second term, including his plans to meet directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. European powers worry that they are being cut out of a negotiation in which they hold a vital stake.

Germany's Olaf Scholz, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, Spain's Pedro Sánchez, the United Kingdom's Keir Starmer, Denmark's Mette Frederiksen, Poland's Donald Tusk and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof have all gathered in Paris for what French officials described as an "informal meeting." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council President António Costa and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte are also in attendance.

Ahead of the meeting, Tusk called on European states to drastically increase defense spending to meet the continent's security challenges with Washington appearing poised to scale back its military commitments in the region.