French President Emmanuel Macron has called for “tough talks” with Pyongyang as he spoke to Donald Trump and hailed plans for a historic meeting between the US and North Korean leaders. “The international community must maintain its unity for tough talks with North Korea to pave the way for a denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” Macron’s office quoted him as telling the US president in a telephone call.

The move is a high-stakes encounter for both Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, who have traded insults in the past and threatened to wipe out each other out. News of the summit, which South Korean President Moon Jae-in said was “like a miracle”, is the latest step in a quickening detente.

North and South Korea exchanged envoys as Pyongyang sent a delegation to the South’s Winter Olympics, which Seoul had dubbed the “Peace Games”. The thaw came after a period of extreme tension between Washington and Pyongyang. </s> CLOSE President Donald Trump says North Korea wants to hold a high-stakes meeting "as soon as possible" and he is praising Kim Jong Un as "very open" and "very honorable." (April 24) AP

President Trump, first lady Melania Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron stand together at the beginning of the state arrival ceremony at the White House Tuesday, April 24, 2018. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

WASHINGTON — President Trump vowed Tuesday to look for common ground with his French counterpart in dealing with Iran but made no commitment to stick with the nuclear agreement he described as "insane" and "ridiculous."

Receiving French President Emmanuel Macron for a state visit at the White House, Trump repeated his criticism of the agreement to freeze Iran's nuclear program, saying it doesn't address Tehran's missile program or its attempts to foment unrest in the region.

And Trump issued an explicit warning to Iran as the world waits to see whether his administration pulls out of the agreement next month.

“If they restart their nuclear program, they will have bigger problems than they have ever had before,” Trump said during a meeting with Macron in the Oval Office. "You can mark it down."

Still, he said, the U.S. and France were "beginning to understand each other" on the need to contain Iran.

Macron and other European leaders have encouraged Trump to remain in the agreement. Macron told reporters Tuesday he wants to work on a "new deal" with Iran that would build on the current agreement but also address Trump's concerns.

Macron described discussions at the White House as "very frank."

"It’s not a mystery we did not have the same starting positions or stances, and neither you nor I have a habit of changing our stances or going with the wind," Macron told Trump during a press conference in the East Room.

The two leaders also said that containing Iran was the key to lasting peace in Syria. Trump has previously said he wants to bring U.S. troops home from Syria quickly but Macron has urged a longer timeline. The president on Tuesday reiterated his desire for a speedy withdrawal but also injected nuance into his answer.

"As far as Syria is concerned, I would love to get out. I would love to bring our brave warriors back home," Trump said. "Emmanuel and myself have discussed that we don’t want to give Iran open season to the Mediterranean (Sea)."

Trump said he wanted to bring troops home "relatively soon" but said "we want to leave a strong and lasting footprint."

Throughout a heavily scripted series of meetings and ceremonial encounters, Trump and Macron showed off their close relationship through words and body language. Trump held Macron's hands, showered him with compliments and even brushed what he said was a piece of dandruff off of Macron's suit.

"I like him a lot," Trump said sheepishly after getting a kiss on the cheek from Macron.

But even as they touted what Trump called "a very special relationship," Macron repeatedly hinted at the issues dividing the two countries: the Iran nuclear deal, the environment and trade.

"It is together that we will be able to act effectively for our planet," Macron said in remarks at an opening ceremony. "I'm not just referring to climate, but also to the oceans, to biodiversity, and to all forms of pollutions. On this issue, we do not always agree as to the solutions, but in the end, such is the case in any family and in any friendship."

Macron's welcoming remarks were notably more specific than Trump's, which focused on the long 241-year friendship between the two countries — and his personal friendship with Macron, who has emerged as Trump's most trusted European ally over the past year.

More: President Trump after picking something off Macron's suit: 'We have to make him perfect'

"The wonderful friendship we have developed over the past year is a testimony to the historic friendship between our two nations," Trump said.

Trump and Macron met amid the protocol-laden pomp of a formal state visit, the first of Trump's presidency. Following Trump's visit to Paris for Bastille Day ceremonies last year, it's the second one-on-one summit between the two leaders, not counting four other meetings at other summits.

Despite the close relationship the two leaders have cultivated, Macron's visit underscored deep policy differences between Paris and Washington. Chief among those is the Iran nuclear agreement, which Trump has referred to as "the worst deal ever negotiated."

Trump made upending the Iran deal, which was negotiated by President Obama, a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. He did little to soften that position Tuesday.

"It's insane. It's ridiculous. It should have never been made," Trump said of the deal in the Oval Office as Macron sat at his side.

"But we will be talking about it."

Trump must decide next month whether to restore economic sanctions on Iran, effectively withdrawing from the multi-nation deal. The issue certain to come up again when German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the White House later this week.

After meeting with Macron, Trump said the two had more substantive talks on Iran than any other issue.

Macron said he wants to pursue a new deal with Iran that would build on the existing agreement while also limiting Tehran's ballistic missile program and its influence in the Middle East.

Trump appeared to be skeptical of such an agreement.

"We'll see," he said, "whether or not it will be possible to do a new deal with solid foundations."

Trade also featured prominently on Macron's agenda. The French president has openly criticized Trump's protectionist moves in recent weeks and wants Washington to exempt European nations from U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs aimed mainly at China.

In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Macron warned Trump not to levy tariffs on European steel and aluminum. "You cannot make a trade war with your ally,” he said.

"When you look at the trade issue between our two countries, they are balanced," Macron said as he stood next to Trump at the White House. "There is no unbalanced relationship."

Macron began the three-day visit Monday with a less formal dinner at President George Washington's estate at Mount Vernon. The two will speak at a state dinner later Tuesday, followed by Macron's speech to a joint session of Congress Wednesday.

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2HVCiAF </s> LA MALBAIE, Que. - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expressing disappointment at the cancellation of the planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

Trudeau says there were hopes the get-together on June 12 could build on a recent meeting between leaders from North and South Korea.

The prime minister said the global community will continue to work toward achieving peace and stability in the region.

Trudeau made the comments in La Malbaie today as he continued his visit to the Quebec town two weeks before it plays host to the G7 summit.

Trump first announced his decision in a letter to Kim that was released by the White House.

The U.S. president called the cancellation a "tremendous setback" for peace but added it would have been inappropriate to hold the meeting because of what he described as "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent North Korean statement. </s> US President Donald Trump says North Korea wants to hold a high-stakes meeting “as soon as possible” and he is praising Kim Jong Un as “very open” and “very honorable.” Trump is addressing his upcoming plans to meet with the North Korean leader during his discussions at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump’s praise for the North Korean dictator stands in stark contrast to his past comments in which he referred to Kim as “Little Rocket Man.” The Trump-Kim meeting is expected in May or June. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is meeting with Kim on Friday to kick off a new round of high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang. </s> Donald Trump praised the strength of his country's friendship with France as he welcomed French president to Washington in the first state visit of a foreign leader to the US of the Trump presidency.

And in a show of the "very special relationship" between the countries, Donald Trump wiped away what he said was a "little piece of dandruff" from Emmanuel Macron's shoulder in front of the press in the White House.

"We have to make him perfect, he is perfect," the US president told reporters.

Earlier he thanked the French leader for his "steadfast partnership" during the recent missile strike in response to the chemical attack in Syria.

Macron told Mr Trump that together the US and France would defeat terrorism, curtail weapons of mass destruction in North Korea and Iran and act together on behalf of the planet, a reference to Macron's work to revive a US role in the Paris climate accord.

"History is calling us. It is urging our people to find the fortitude that has guided us in the most difficult of times," Macron said. "France and with it, Europe, and the United States have an appointment with history." </s> French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes US President Donald Trump prior to a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace on July 13, 2017 in Paris, France. Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes France's Emmanuel Macron to the White House on Monday at the start of a three-day state visit expected to be dominated by U.S.-European differences on the Iran nuclear deal and souring trade relations.

It will be Trump's first hosting of a state visit since he took power in January 2017. The pair will get a sense of their two countries' shared history during an evening meal on Monday night at Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, the first U.S. president and Revolutionary War commander whose alliance with France was critical to victory over the British.

The major work between them is scheduled for Tuesday during White House meetings, before Macron addresses Congress on Wednesday, the anniversary of the day that French General Charles de Gaulle addressed a Joint Session of Congress in 1960.

Trump and the 40-year-old French leader began their improbable friendship a year ago in Belgium with a jaw-clenching handshake. While other European leaders have kept a certain distance from Trump, Macron has worked hard to remain close to the U.S. president and the two leaders speak frequently by phone.

Macron is on something of a rescue mission for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which Trump has vowed to scrap unless European allies strengthen it by mid-May.

The deal reached between Iran, the United States and five other world powers put curbs on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Macron said on Fox News Sunday that it would be better to protect the Iran deal instead of get rid of it, saying there is no "Plan B" to take its place.

"Is this agreement perfect and this JCPOA a perfect thing for our relationship with Iran? No. But for nuclear -- what do you have? As a better option? I don't see it," he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump react in the courtyard after a joint news conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Macron also wants to persuade Trump to exempt European nations from steel tariffs that are part of the U.S. president's plan to reduce chronic trade deficits with countries around the world, chiefly China.

His visit comes at a time of mounting alarm in Europe over the knock-on effect that U.S. sanctions on Russia will have on their own manufacturing industries.

An official in the French presidency said Paris and other European capitals were coordinating efforts to persuade Trump to ease sanctions on Russia, including measures against Russian aluminum producers.

"We're working on that with our European partners," the source said.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss Syria, less than two weeks after the United States, France and Britain launched airstrikes in Syria in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack that killed dozens in Douma, Syria.

Macron said last week that he believed he had persuaded Trump to keep U.S. troops in Syria, but Trump has been insistent on bringing them home, although he has not publicly provided a definite timetable.

Whether substantive progress will be made on these and other issues was unclear.

"Whether we will actually solve, or come to closure, or a full detailed agreement on some of the issues that we've touched on is difficult to say at this remove," a senior administration official told reporters on Friday. </s> U.S. President Donald Trump says the United States has begun direct high level talks with North Korea. The statement comes weeks before a proposed summit between Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, visiting Trump for bilateral talks, expressed a desire for Japan's interests to also be on the table during the talks. VOA's Jesusemen Oni has more. </s> Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin walks to a working breakfast with President Donald Trump and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the Hotel du Palais on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. (Erin Schaff, The New York Times, Pool)

BIARRITZ, France (AP) — The Latest on the summit of leaders from the Group of Seven democracies (all times local):

French President Emmanuel Macron says France and the U.S. have reached a “very good agreement” defusing tensions over a French tax on online giants like Google.

The tax had prompted threats from U.S. President Donald Trump of heavy tariffs on French wine.

Speaking Monday alongside Trump, Macron said they made “considerable headway in the spirit of unity” at the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France.

Macron said France would reimburse companies who pay the tax once an international tax deal is in place to replace the 3% French tax on French revenues of big online companies. It’s aimed at reducing tax avoidance for digital multinationals.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he hopes for a meeting in coming weeks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Speaking alongside Trump on Monday, Macron said G-7 leaders had agreed that Iran needs to meet its nuclear obligations and that there was a hope for a diplomatic breakthrough in the tensions that have grown since the U.S. left the 2015 nuclear accord.

Macron spoke at the end of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says a G-7 agreement on fighting the Amazon fires treats the region like a colony.

The response came in a tweet Monday morning after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the Group of Seven had agreed on a $20 million firefighting fund as well as a long-term initiative to protect the rainforest.

At the same time, Macron savaged the Brazilian president for “extraordinarily disrespectful comments” about his wife and reiterated that Bolsonaro had lied about commitments to deforestation.

Bolsonaro, in turn, said Macron’s “ludicrous and unnecessary attacks on the Amazon” were unacceptable and accused him of treating the region “as if we were a colony.”

French President Emmanuel Macron says he is considering launching an international campaign to help sub-Saharan African countries fight fires raging in the area that are being compared to the Amazon rainforest fires.

Macron tweeted from the Group of Seven summit Monday that “the forest is also burning in sub-Saharan Africa. We are studying the possibility of launching an initiative similar to what we just announced for the Amazon.”

Macron said earlier Monday that G-7 nations are committing $20 million to countries in the Amazon region to help fight the fires and help with “re-forestation.”

Environmental groups have expressed concern about massive fires in African countries including Angola and Congo that are getting less attention than those in the Amazon, which have caused worldwide concern because of their potential impact on climate change.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says that the world faces “a dramatic climate emergency.” He is urging leaders at a Sept. 23 summit in New York to agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than they promised in the 2015 Paris climate accord.

Guterres said Monday at the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, that “we are much worse than we were during Paris (…) And so it’s absolutely essential that countries commit themselves to increase what was promised in Paris.”

Guterres said that Greenland’s ice cap was melting “dramatically” and that 2015 through 2019 were “the five hottest years on record.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has pulled the U.S. out of the Paris accord but Guterres said states, cities and businesses had “the capacity to deliver in relation to climate action.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has missed a discussion on climate with other world leaders at the Group of Seven summit in France.

Trump was scheduled to attend Monday’s session on climate, biodiversity and oceans, but his chair was empty during a portion of the meeting reporters were allowed to witness.

French President Emmanuel Macron says that while Trump didn’t attend, his aides were there.

The president started the morning behind schedule. His meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel was delayed about two hours.

He then met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he was asked about attending the climate session.

He said it would be his next stop and that he wants clean air and water.

Trump is a climate change skeptic who once had claimed it’s a hoax that was invented by the Chinese.

Some called it PorkGate. A disagreement between Britain’s prime minister and makers of a distinctive type of pork pies highlighted some of the tensions surround the country as it faces Brexit.

Boris Johnson said on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in France, where he is trying to drum up trade with the U.S., that Britain’s failure to sell Melton Mowbray pork pies is an example of unfair U.S. barriers to trade. He said the pies are sold as far as Thailand and Iceland.

But Matthew O’Callaghan, head of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, told the BBC that Johnson had it wrong and that the pies were not sold in those two countries.

Downing Street fought back saying the association was misinformed and sharing the documents Johnson used for the briefing.

Turns out Johnson was only partly correct. The company that makes them, Samworth Brothers, says they once sold a “very small amount” of the pies in those two countries, but decided in 2015 to focus on the U.K. market.

French President Emmanuel Macron isn’t backing down in his ongoing dispute with Brazil’s leader.

Macron has threatened to block a European trade deal with Brazil and other South American countries over the Amazon wildfires and what he has described as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s lies over containing deforestation.

The back and forth deteriorated over the weekend when Bolsonaro endorsed a Facebook post insulting Macron’s wife, Brigitte. Macron also accused him of missing a scheduled meeting with the French foreign minister in favor of a barber appointment and reiterated that Bolsonaro had lied to him.

Macron said: “It’s sad. First for him and for the Brazilians.”

He said Brazilian women “are doubtless ashamed to read that about their president” and that he hoped the country would soon have a president who could behave according to the standards of the office.

G-7 countries have agreed to an immediate $20 million fund to help Amazon countries fight wildfires and launch a long-term global initiative to protect the rainforest.

The announcement came from French President Emmanuel Macron, the host of this year’s meeting of G-7 leaders, and the Chilean President Sebastián Piñera. Macron said that the Amazon represents the “lungs” of the planet and that leaders were studying the possibility of similar support in Africa, also suffering from fires in its rainforests.

Macron said the U.S. supported the initiative, although he acknowledged that U.S. President Donald Trump had skipped Monday’s working session on the environment.

Satellites have recorded more than 41,000 fires in the Amazon region so far this year — with more than half of those coming this month alone. Experts say most of the fires are set by farmers or ranchers clearing existing farmland.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hailing what she describes as a “big step forward” on Iran at the Group of Seven summit.

G-7 leaders held what Merkel describes as a constructive discussion on Iran Saturday night, which was followed by a surprise visit Sunday by Iran’s foreign minister for discussions with the French hosts.

Merkel said Monday: “It is a big step forward that we not only don’t want Iran to have nuclear weapons, but we also (want to) achieve the solution by political means.”

Merkel was pressed on what progress she saw exactly and on whether U.S. President Donald Trump was prepared to accommodate any move toward alleviating sanctions against Iran. She replied: “I can’t say that at the moment. There is an atmosphere here in which talks are welcomed, in which talks between the Europeans and Iran and particularly France and Iran are welcomed — this is happening in coordination with the United States of America, and that is already a lot.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked trade with his Australian counterpart at the Group of Seven summit in France as he sought to position his nation for a post-Brexit world.

Johnson’s office says he and Prime Minister Scott Morrison “discussed their enthusiasm for an enhanced and deep trading relationship once the U.K. leaves the EU.”

The two leaders also discussed concerns about Hong Kong “and agreed that it was paramount for all sides to remain calm and peaceful.”

Johnson says it was “fantastic” to talk to Morrison, who “seemed in very high spirits” despite England’s victory Sunday in the third test of the Ashes cricket series.

French officials say the U.S. and France are nearing a possible deal on taxing online powerhouses — and avoiding new tariffs on French wine.

Two officials said Monday that progress was made at a dinner Sunday night with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, France’s finance minister and other U.S. officials on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France.

France introduced a 3% tax last month on French revenues of big tech companies like Google and Amazon, which currently pay next to no taxes on French sales.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened retaliatory measures on French wine, which could be announced as soon as Monday.

Asked about the wine tariffs Monday, Trump said “it depends on the deal we work out on the digital tax,” which “We’re negotiating right now.”

The French officials said France would scrap its tech tax if an international tax deal on digital multinationals is in place by 2020 or 2021 — and could reimburse the companies if the international tax is lower than the French tax.

The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because they could not be named publicly.

G-7 leaders are wrapping up a summit dominated by tensions over U.S. trade policies and a surprise visit by Iran’s top diplomat.

U.S. President Donald Trump and summit host French President Emmanuel Macron will finish off the three-day summit with a joint news conference Monday.

But first the leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies — the U.S., France, Britain, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy — are holding a string of meetings on climate change, how digitalization is transforming the world and other issues.

The troubled world economy is overshadowing the meetings in the French Atlantic resort of Biarritz.

Macron also took a big gamble by inviting the Iranian foreign minister to Biarritz, hoping to secure a breakthrough in global tensions over Iran’s nuclear program. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had been "very honourable" and that discussions ahead of a planned meeting between the two leaders were going well.

"We have been told directly that they would like to have the meeting as soon as possible, and we think that's a great thing for the world," Trump told reporters during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House.

"We're having ... very good discussions. Kim Jong Un, he really has been very open and I think very honourable from everything we're seeing," Trump added.

Trump has said he could meet with Kim in late May or June.

The United States is pressing North Korea to denuclearize and has said it would keep up a policy of "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang to achieve that goal.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday North Korea had expressed a commitment to "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula, and North Korea said on Saturday it would immediately suspend nuclear and missile tests.

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French President Emmanuel Macron says that Trump should hold tough talks with North Korea.