President Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, highlighted their “outstanding” alliance on Thursday and said they are in agreement that Iran cannot become armed with a nuclear weapon.
”I don’t think we have differences over Iran,” Trump told reporters before a meeting with Macron in Caen, France. “I don’t think that the president wants to see nuclear weapons and neither do I. And that’s what it’s all about.”
”I think we do share the same objective on Iran,” Macron said.
He said France, which is still part of the nuclear deal with Iran that the Obama administration brokered in 2015, and the US share common objectives — to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, to curtail its influence in the region and to establish peace in the Middle East.
”All the other debates are about technicalities,” Macron said, while calling for new global talks to reach those goals.
Trump, who withdrew the US from the nuclear deal last year, said the sanctions his administration imposed on the Islamic Republic have crippled the country’s economy.
“They’re doing very poorly as a nation,” Trump said. “They’re failing as a nation. And I don’t want them to fail as a nation. We can turn that around very quickly, but the sanctions have been extraordinary how powerful they’ve been, and other things. I understand they want to talk and if they want to talk, that’s fine.”
The two leaders spoke just hours after attending the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, where they hailed the alliance that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany.
They continued the mutual praise at the outset of their face-to-face meeting.
“Thanks for this friendship, thanks for what your country did for my country, and thanks for what we will do together for both of us and the rest of the world,” Macron told Trump.
Trump was equally complimentary.
”The relationship between you and I, and also France and the US, has been outstanding. I don’t think it’s ever been — maybe as good. It’s been good sometimes and sometimes it hasn’t been but right now it’s outstanding,” the president said.
”I appreciate it very much. Thank you, Mr. President,” Trump said, reaching over to shake hands with Macron.
Following the meeting, Trump is scheduled to travel to Ireland to continue his stay at his golf resort in Doonbeg to finish the final leg of his state visit to the United Kingdom that began Monday.
