French President Emanuel Macron will today present “proposals for action” to US President Donald Trump to counter the “Russian threat” in Europe and ensure “sustainable peace” in Ukraine amid a Russian-American rapprochement.

Macron arrived in Washington yesterday evening, Sunday, and will meet Trump at the White House today at 12:00 (local time, 19:00 GMT) for a face-to-face chat, followed by lunch and a joint press conference between the two men at 15:00.

Three years after the French president met with Vladimir Putin on February 7, 2022, in a last-ditch but futile attempt to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Macron’s current visit to Washington also has a sense of urgency.

Trump caused an earthquake on the international stage when he announced that he wants to negotiate a peace plan with Putin on his own, putting the Russian president at the center of attention, while at the same time missing no opportunity to attack his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

Europeans fear this plan will mean Kiev’s surrender and encourage Russia to continue to threaten its neighbors, some of which are EU members.

“We have a force that is over-armed (…) and which continues to be over-armed. We don’t know where it will stop today. We must therefore all act to contain it,” Macron said before leaving for Washington.

The French president will act as a spokesman for the Europeans after holding talks with nearly everyone, including pro-Russian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, last week.

“He is going to Washington with proposals for action that reflect the points of convergence that were presented” during those talks, an adviser to Macron stressed.

This means “continuing support for Ukraine, providing the necessary military assistance, respecting its sovereignty” in order to “take full account of the interests of the Europeans,” he explained.

To do this, Macron intends to convince Trump that Russia is an “existential threat,” that Putin “will not respect” a ceasefire and that there should be guarantees for a ceasefire.

Before leaving for the US, the French president spoke with British Prime Minister Kir Starmers, who is expected in Washington on Thursday, to coordinate their message to the US president.

London and Paris are working to deploy a European force to Ukraine after a peace deal is reached to prevent Russia from attacking the country again.

“The idea is to deploy soldiers on the second line rather than on the front line. This could be combined with a multinational operation, with units outside Europe,” a French source with knowledge of the discussions pointed out.

The French and British leaders are expected to ask the US president for “clear security guarantees” for forces deployed in Ukraine.

The Trump administration has ruled out sending ground forces to Ukraine, but could offer curatorial assistance, in-depth strikes, intelligence and a commitment to respond in the event of a Russian attack, Europeans hope.

Macron also hopes to show Trump that if he appears too accommodating on Russia, he may encourage his main rival, China, to step up its pressure on Taiwan.

The Republican administration appears to be in agreement with Moscow at the moment, saying it is “not realistic” for Ukraine to regain the territory it lost to Russia or to join NATO.

“It is in his interest to cooperate with the Europeans because Europe has a capacity for development, economic potential, (capacity) to cooperate with the Americans,” the French president will note.

On the other hand, he is going to warn Trump that the Europeans will respond if the US imposes additional tariffs on their products.