Emmanuel Macron emphasizes EU cooperation, cautions against 'threats of destabilization'

French President Emmanuel Macron took a veiled dig at President Donald Trump on Tuesday in Armenia, saying that a global power like the U.S. should not issue threats of destabilization. Macron's comments come as the United States is locked in conflict with Iran and has soured relations with NATO members. He also said that the European Union had instruments at its disposal to help out countries threatened by high tariffs.

"I believe, especially in the geopolitical period we are experiencing, allies like the U.S. and E.U. have much better things to do than to stir up threats of destabilization," he said. Earlier, Macron had said that the European Union was "experiencing the cost of our other dependencies." 

Macron also praised Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, lauding the country's diplomacy with Europe. "If Mark is here as well, this is because he feels closer to the Europeans and because we are all together and we consider we have to be more united," the French President said. Relations between Macron and Trump reportedly remain strained since the U.S. President made a personal comment about his French counterpart. Trump had implied that Macron's wife did not treat him well. In response, the French President had said that his words "weren't elegant, and they weren't up to par," as per a CNN report. 

Macron, who was joined by other members of the European Union and NATO in Armenia at the first-ever EU-Armenia Summit and the European Political Community (EPC) summit, was not the only European leader to question the U.S.'s actions in the Middle East. Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said that she did not understand what the U.S. wanted from the war in Iran. "When it comes to the Middle East, we don't know what America really wants, but we know that Iran hardly would give up its nuclear program," she said. "I think this can be a long conflict, whatever the U.S. does. And that comes with a cost, as I often say, comes with a cost for Swedish citizens, but also all countries around the world."

Earlier this month, President Trump announced in a Truth Social post that he would be raising tariffs on cars and trucks coming from the EU to 25%. He claimed that the European Union was not adhering to the terms of the previously agreed trade deal. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hit back at Trump in Yerevan, saying "a deal is a deal," as per a Politico report. Macron voiced his support for the Commission's stance. "Agreements have been signed and must be honored; if they were called into question, it would reopen everything," he said. "And if a country is threatened with fresh tariffs, the EU has the tools to respond, and should use them, because that’s what they are for."