World4 min(s) read
Published 09:40 17 Jun 2026 GMT
French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's hot mic conversation revealed how the two leaders planned to navigate talks with Trump at the G7 Summit.
The exchange took place as world leaders gathered for talks on some of the biggest geopolitical challenges facing the international community, including the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
After greeting each other, Macron asked Zelensky how long he planned to remain at the summit.
The 38-year-old Ukrainian leader appeared to explain that he could only stay for one more full day before travelling to Brussels on Thursday.
The French president then asked whether a "bilateral [unintelligible] being organized," to which Zelensky replied: "With President Trump?" cited by Daily Mail.
The pair then lowered their voices for more than 20 seconds before Macron could be heard saying: "Okay, we'll arrange that."
The brief conversation fuelled speculation that the leaders were discussing plans for a meeting with the 80-year-old US president away from the public eye.
Moments later, Macron mentioned an upcoming G7 meeting before both men spoke quietly again.
Despite the secrecy surrounding the exchange, both leaders later met with Trump.
The meeting took place as Trump continued to have tense relationships with several of America's allies.
European leaders have expressed discomfort with the president's unpredictable second-term foreign policy, while the president has maintained a more difficult relationship with Zelensky than many other G7 leaders.
Their relationship hit a low point after a tumultuous White House meeting last February, when the president dramatically removed the Ukrainian president from the building.
Earlier during the summit, footage showed Trump walking ahead of Macron and Zelensky as they entered a working session.
After reaching the meeting table, he briefly stood alone before the two leaders joined him.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later greeted the trio, first shaking hands with the two-time US leader and exchanging a few words before moving on.
She then greeted Macron with a smile, opened her arms and exchanged kisses on both cheeks, while Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also received warm embraces.
Although Ukraine is not a member of the G7, Zelensky attended the summit at the invitation of host nation France.
As Ukraine's war with Russia enters its fifth year, Zelensky is continuing to seek support from G7 countries. Fighting remains ongoing, with both sides still launching drone and missile attacks.
After meeting with world leaders, Zelensky outlined Ukraine's priorities.
"Priorities are clear," he wrote, per The Guardian. "More air defense missiles along with licenses to produce them, winter support package, and cranking up pressure on Russia. Importantly, the US is ready to provide backstop across these lines of effort."
He also described the gathering as a "multilateral meeting" and thanked fellow leaders for their participation.
Ukraine remained one of the summit's main topics despite recent attention being focused on tensions involving Iran.
During a meeting with Macron earlier in the summit, Trump said he had recently spoken with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Now that this (Iran) is finished, we're going to be focusing on that," he reportedly said.
Macron has said he hopes to convince Trump to continue supporting Ukraine while putting more pressure on Russia to help secure a peace deal.
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