Macron and Starmer persuaded Trump to change his stance on Putin – Politico

US President Donald Trump has shifted his rhetoric regarding Russian leader Vladimir Putin following several months of behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Source: Politico, citing sources within European governments on condition of anonymity

Details: According to Politico, Trump's change of course was the result of lengthy coordination efforts  between London, Paris and Washington. Starmer and Macron sought to persuade the US president to ease pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy and redirect some of his anger towards Putin, arguing that Putin was making Trump look like a fool.

Quote: "The US president's public dig at Putin permitted diplomats in London and Paris the smallest of fist pumps, as their endeavours over the past three months appeared to bear fruit."

Details: Politico reported that UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell and Defence Secretary John Healey had played key roles in the talks with the US administration. Their efforts were coordinated with Mark Burnett, US Special Envoy to the United Kingdom. For his part, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy noted that he had held 13 conversations with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in 2025 alone, while Starmer and Trump had spoken "almost" as many times.

"Zelenskyy had clearly managed to affect Trump's thinking in Rome," said one former UK ambassador, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to him, the UK and France repeatedly stressed that Putin was "disrespecting [Trump] by consistently breaking the ceasefire he claimed to be implementing".

He suggested that this had become a particularly sensitive issue because Trump "is squeamish about people being killed – it bothers him".

"For the moment, Trump has understood Putin can't be trusted. It's something that the president [Macron] repeatedly says, and tries to get through to Trump. That's our strategy right now," confirmed an unnamed French official.

However, the UK and France are now left anxiously waiting to see whether Trump's tougher stance on Putin will withstand his impatience to move on quickly.

Steven Pfifer, a senior fellow at the US-based think tank the Brookings Institution, also noted that Trump had had "a blind spot for Putin ignoring US requests". But his recent statements on social media "seemed to suggest he thought he was being played by Putin," Pfifer stressed.

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