Zelensky and Macron caught in 'hot mic moment' as they discuss Trump meeting at G7

Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron were caught in a hot mic moment earlier on Tuesday, as world leaders are attending the G7 Summit in France. The two presidents appeared to be talking about whether the Ukrainian President would have a meeting with Donald Trump while in Evian-les-Bains.

After greeting each other, the French President appeared to ask Mr Zelensky about the length of his stay in France for the G7 conference. Mr Zelensky said his visit would be short, explaining that he could only remain for one additional full day. He noted that his tight schedule required him to leave soon afterwards, as he had plans to travel to Brussels on Thursday, according to audio from their discussion.

Then Mr Macron, walking the grounds of the Hotel Royal, asked if Mr Zelensky had a “bilateral [unintelligible] being organised”.

“With President Trump?” Mr Zelensky seemingly answered. The leaders spoke quietly for over twenty seconds before Mr Macron rejoined more audibly, “Okay, we’ll arrange that”, reports Mail Online.

The Ukrainian president joined the G7 leaders for talks on the war in his country, started by Vladimir Putin in February 2022.

Talks wrapped quickly, after just 75 minutes. Mr Zelensky said Ukraine is serious about peace, while Russia toys with world leaders.

He said: “The entire ‘Seven’ supports Ukraine unanimously today”, adding G7 leaders supported Ukraine’s need for more Patriot missiles and discussed how to increase production by licensing production.

Patriot missiles are able to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and cities.

Mr Trump spoke about the death toll of the conflict, saying: “The whole thing is ridiculous. So, yeah, I’m going to do whatever I can.”

During the G7 meeting, Mr Trump also spoke about the US-Iran ceasefire deal, the text of which hasn’t yet been made public.

The G7 comprises France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Other guest nations, including Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea, were invited to participate in some discussions.