French president Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky were caught on an open microphone at the G7 Summit.
The duo in Évian-les-Bains, France, were caught discussing whether Zelensky would meet with President Donald Trump, among other things.
After the leaders exchanged greetings, Macron asked the Ukrainian leader how long he would be in France for the G7 conference.
The accidental recording captured Zlensky appearing to say that he would only be able to stay one more full day, as he had to travel to Brussels on Thursday.
Then Macron asked if Zelensky had a ‘bilateral [unintelligible] being organized’.
‘With President Trump?’ Zelensky answered.
Tantalizingly, the chiefs of state spoke quietly for over twenty seconds before Macron rejoined more audibly, ‘Okay, we’ll arrange that.’
The two may have been trying to avoid being overheard.
Then Macron mentioned an upcoming G7 meeting before he and Zelensky again lowered their voices. Both leaders met with the President later on Tuesday.
As it is, the US president has been unfriendlier to Zelensky than other G7 leaders, even dramatically booting him from the White House after a tumultuous meeting last February.
The Ukrainian touted a ‘multilateral meeting’ with G7 leaders in a post on X on Tuesday afternoon local time, thanking other heads of state for their participation.
‘Priorities are clear,’ Zelensky wrote.
‘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.’
Trump and Zelensky spoke during the meeting on Tuesday, and the US President said afterward that he thought Russia should strike a deal with Ukraine.
