PARIS (BLOOMBERG) – France’s Emmanuel Macron has cast blame on US President Donald Trump’s policies for hurting allies in Europe, speaking on his arrival in Argentina for a meeting of global leaders.

“Truth said, some of Trump’s recent decisions have been done to the detriment of its allies,” Mr Macron told La Nacion, a newspaper in Argentina, in an interview released on Thursday (Nov 29).

Mr Macron did not give details of what decisions he was referring to. He is starting his South America stop with a one-day working visit in Argentina.

Mr Trump and Mr Macron will be with the other Group of 20 (G-20) leaders in Buenos Aires on Friday and Saturday.

The two men won’t have a separate bilateral meeting, according to their agendas.

Mr Macron is set to meet China’s leader Xi Jinping on Saturday morning and also Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Friday afternoon.

A threat of tariffs on imported cars, including European automobiles, has soured the relationship between the US and Europe for several months.

Mr Macron reiterated his plea for “multilateralism and cooperation”.

Leaders attending the latest edition of the G-20 in Buenos Aires face shared threats from issues ranging from trade disputes to migration and climate change, but are so lacking in common purpose that a blow-up looks more likely than a collective response.

‘SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION’

“Let’s not hide the seriousness of the situation,” Mr Macron said. “What’s at risk is a blockage of the world’s multilateral forums like the G-20.”

He pledged to push through his multilateralism agenda while France chairs the G-7 next year.

Tensions have been on show between Mr Macron and Mr Trump in recent months. They traded barbs on social media and in interviews this month about Mr Macron’s call for a European army.

On Nov 13, Mr Trump took a swipe at France and the French President, implying on Twitter that the country needed the US to rescue it from the Germans in both World Wars.

He also mocked Mr Macron’s approval rating.

The French leader responded two days later saying allies “owe each other respect”.

The heated exchange came after they met in Paris on Nov 11 on the sidelines of the World War I armistice commemorations.

Asked about the growing tension, the French 40 year-old-leader reiterated his call to the countries’ long-standing history.

He said that the strategic relations remain “untouched”, according to La Nacion.

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