Trump said Macron's warning that Europe cannot continue to rely on support from the US was a dangerous statement. The French president upheld his stance.

US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on December 3 met on the sidelines of a NATO leadership conference in London, England. As usual, Trump is probably ready for what often happens during White House meetings: He will talk a lot, while the other leader can only smile wryly at jokes, sarcasm, and lashings. of the US President.

But the meeting in London was not what Trump thought. After 45 minutes of dialogue, the French leader turned the situation, putting him on the defensive when referring to the vision for NATO as well as how he handled the military conflict involving Turkey. Macron also dismissed Trump's joke about sending Islamic State (IS) fighters from Syria to France.

"Do you want some kind of IS fighters?" Trump said, leaning toward Macron and claiming "many" IS fighters had arrived in France. "I can give them to you."

"Be serious," replied President Macron, holding one hand on one knee. "A lot of fighters on the front are gunmen from Syria and Iraq."

This dramatic moment brought about a change in the relationship between the two world leaders, previously known for their tight hugs and long handshakes, but has now become cool in the face of a series of questions. deals with divisions, from anti-terrorism to trade policy.

"President Trump dislikes face-to-face confrontation and does not know how to react when placed in that position," said Heather A. Conley, director of the European program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS), comments. "Macron understands this. He decided that the best defense is to attack."

All day yesterday, the US president appeared prominently in the media with a series of statements and statements of interest. Trump criticized Democrats for being "not patriotic" for supporting his impeachment investigation and implied that he could delay a trade deal with China until after the 2020 US presidential election. However, French President Macron is still the focus of the White House boss.

Macron in an interview with Economist in November said that NATO was in a "brain dead" state after the US lost its leadership role. According to him, the United States under Trump appears to be "turning away from us", notably the act of withdrawing troops from Syria without informing allies in advance. Macron also called on European countries to enhance their self-defense more and avoid security dependence on the US.

"There is no coordination between the United States and NATO allies in strategic decision making," Macron stressed.

His statement at the time was subject to criticism from other NATO members, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said the French president had made unnecessary "hasty judgments". Experts say Macron's views are not entirely wrong, but they can be turned into weapons by President Trump to attack him.

In a nearly-hour meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on December 3, Trump called Macron's speech last month a "grave insult" to the alliance.

In the afternoon, when asked about his previous comment regarding the French President, Trump initially hesitated. But when it was his turn to speak, Macron was very outspoken.

"My statement caused certain reactions," Macron said. "I still reserve my opinion."

As the two continued a brief exchange, Macron aimed for the relationship between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan has angered NATO allies for buying S.400 missile defense systems from Russia. The Turkish president now threatens to hinder NATO's defense plans in Poland and the Baltic states if the alliance does not support him in listing some Kurdish groups on the terrorist list.

Trump still maintains a tie-up relationship with Erdogan. He also gave the green light to lead Turkey to launch a military campaign against the Kurdish militia in northern Syria, who stood side by side with the US in the fight against IS. Yesterday, Trump declined to say whether he would impose sanctions on Turkey for buying Russian S-400 missiles.

President Macron, meanwhile, was more aggressive, saying that Ankara needed to explain its decision to buy weapons systems from Moscow and that all parties needed a common sense in classifying different armed groups as terrorism.

"In the case of Turkey, they are against those who fought alongside us," Macron said. "Who is the enemy?"

In a number of press appearances, Trump repeatedly emphasized a foreign policy achievement that he hoped could help him promote the re-election campaign: Forcing allies to spend more on the budget. NATO.

"What I like about NATO is that many countries do what I want," Trump said.

However, Macron made it clear that even though European countries spend more on military spending, NATO has other challenges to deal with, not just "numbers".

"I'm sorry that we don't have the same definition of terrorism," President Macron told his US counterpart. During the conversation that was considered cold, Macron sat close to the edge of the chair, constantly swinging his arms vigorously. Trump, meanwhile, sank back into the yellow chair.

Macron's initiative seems to have confused Trump, so much so that he sometimes declares that he does not support the protesters who are demanding to overthrow the government in Iran. This statement contradicts the position of the White House and the recent statement of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. After his meeting with Macron, Trump had to quickly correct on Twitter that the US supported the protesters in Iran.

According to regional experts, given that the UK is gradually leaving the European Union (EU) and Germany immersed in domestic political troubles, President Macron saw an opportunity to assert his leadership role. of France in Europe.

"President Macron is seizing the opportunity, creating a breakthrough in its own way and we will wait and see how effective it is," said Conley expert from CSIS.