The December 7 trilateral meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron, US President-elect Donald Trump, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral signaled a possible convergence of views regarding a way forward in Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. The meeting might have helped dissipate the widespread fear among Europeans that the president-elect would settle for a deal throwing Ukraine to the wolves. It also alleviated some US perceptions that Ukrainians were too demanding in their approach to a deal and that Europeans were unwilling to commit. Several European nations have been clear that their end goal is a strategic victory for a Ukraine integrated in the Western security order. Beyond its general support for this goal, France has repeatedly engaged with other European leaders on future legal, political, military, […]