Diyar Guldogan and Fatma Zehra Solmaz
20 January 2026•Update: 21 January 2026
WASHINGTON / ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday shared screenshots of messages received by French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that questioned his efforts to take over Greenland and invited him for dinner in Paris on Thursday.
"My friend, We are totally in line on Syria. We can do great things on Iran. I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland," Macron wrote to Trump, according to the screenshots posted on the American leader's Truth Social account with the caption: "Note from President Emmanuel Macron, of France:".
"Let us try to build great things," Macron wrote, also offering to set up a G7 meeting in Paris on Thursday afternoon. "I can invite the ukrainians, the danish, the syrians and the russians in the margins," he said.
Earlier, Trump brushed off remarks attributed to Macron, indicating he would not join the international Board of Peace aimed at resolving the Gaza conflict, responding with a threat of steep tariffs.
"Did he say that?" Trump said when asked by a reporter about Macron saying he will not join the board. "Well, nobody wants him because he's going to be out of office very soon."
"I'll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he'll join, but he doesn't have to join. I mean, if he said that — you're probably giving it to me a little bit differently — but if he actually did say that," he added.
French broadcaster BFM TV, citing sources close to Macron on Monday, reported that the French leader does not plan to accept Trump's invitation to join the board over concerns that the US-led initiative goes beyond Gaza and could undermine the principles and structure of the UN.
The White House last week announced the formation of the board to "play an essential role in fulfilling" 20 points of Trump’s plan to permanently end Israel's war on Gaza and rebuild the enclave, as well as "providing strategic oversight, mobilizing international resources, and ensuring accountability as Gaza transitions from conflict to peace and development."
The US also formed the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza to implement phase two of Trump's Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, a founding Executive Board, and a Gaza Executive Board to support the transitional framework.
Trump has invited additional heads of state and government to join the board, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
