France’s Macron to Ask Trump to Drop Some Iran Sanctions to Help Talks


TOKYO, June 27 (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he will try to convince U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend some sanctions on Iran to allow for negotiations to de-escalate the crisis in the region.

“I want to convince Trump that it is in his interest to re-open a negotiation process (and) go back on certain sanctions to give negotiations a chance,” Macron told reporters on the train from Tokyo to Kyoto.

The French leader will meet his U.S. counterpart on the sidelines of the G20 summit this weekend.

Macron said the idea would be to begin a discussion and set up the parameters of talks ranging from Iran‘s nuclear activities to its wider role in the region.

“We’d give ourselves a few months,” Macron said.


(Reporting by Christopher Gallagher; Writing by John Irish; Editing by Richard Lough)