President Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, said the U.S. and France were steadfast allies even as their messages on how to end the Russia-Ukraine war diverged at a joint press conference at the White House, one that followed a closed-door meeting between the two in the Oval Office. While President Trump reiterated his demand that any deal with Ukraine would sign must include significant rare earth mineral rights to the U.S. to "pay back" its hundreds of millions in military aid, President Macron said any deal "must not mean a surrender of Ukraine." President Macron's visit to the U.S. was the first of a European leader to the White House in President Trump's second term.