Accidental Hot Mic At G7: Macron, Zelensky Discuss 'Difficult' Trump Meeting | Watch

Last Updated:June 16, 2026, 17:57 IST

A hot mic at G7 caught Macron urging Zelensky to extend his stay and brokering a same-day Trump bilateral.

French President Emmanuel Macron told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday that his prior evening’s meeting with US President Donald Trump had been “difficult," as the two leaders were caught on an open microphone at the G7 summit in this Swiss lakeside resort town, discussing how best to handle the American president.

The exchange happened as Macron and Zelensky walked the grounds of Hotel Royal. Macron urged Zelensky to stay longer at the summit, but the Ukrainian leader said he had prior commitments in Brussels later in the week.

Macron then asked whether Zelensky had secured a one-on-one with Trump. Zelensky said he had not, though he had requested one during a Sunday phone call to wish Trump a happy 80th birthday. “OK, I will arrange that," Macron said. Both men noticed the mics were live shortly after and dropped their voices.

Trump arrived 50 minutes late to the morning’s group session on Ukraine and initially did not approach Zelensky, who received warm greetings from the other G7 leaders.

By the session’s end, though, Trump and Zelensky spoke for several minutes. Trump later confirmed an impromptu bilateral: “I’m meeting him later on today." Zelensky posted photographs of the sit-down on social media, the two leaders facing each other in close conversation.

During the G7 session, European leaders told Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin now held the weaker position in the war and pressed for greater American support. “Priorities are clear: more air defense missiles along with licenses to produce them, winter support package, and cranking up pressure on Russia," Zelensky wrote on X after the meeting.

Zelensky had also proposed, ahead of the summit, a trilateral meeting between Trump, himself, and Putin in the US, calling it a setting where Putin “would find it much harder to refuse." Russia fired dozens of missiles at Ukrainian cities the same morning, killing at least 11 people.

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Anoshito Banerjee

Anoshito Banerjee is a digital journalist at CNN-News18, specialising in Indian foreign policy, global diplomacy, South and West Asian geopolitics, and strategic affairs. His reporting spans hard news...Read More

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