Fact check: Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are planning to accompany Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington to salvage his relations with Donald Trump.

1. Summary of the results

The original statement appears to be premature and not entirely accurate. While there are diplomatic efforts underway involving these leaders, the situation is more complex:

• Both Macron's office and No. 10 have explicitly denied that concrete plans for a joint trip are currently in place ^[1]
• The French government describes this as a "wish" or something that is "envisaged" rather than a confirmed plan ^[2]
• Instead of a joint trip, Macron and Starmer are actually planning separate visits to Washington - Macron on Monday and Starmer on Thursday ^[3]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original statement omits several crucial pieces of context:

• The diplomatic efforts are part of a broader strategy to restore US military support to Ukraine ^[1]
• There is an existing peace settlement plan that European leaders hope to present to Trump ^[4]
• Zelensky is scheduled to visit the UK for talks with Starmer following a contentious meeting with Trump ^[5]
• A summit in London discussing Ukraine is taking place, showing ongoing diplomatic coordination between these leaders ^[6]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The statement presents several problematic elements:

• It oversimplifies complex diplomatic negotiations by presenting them as a confirmed plan when they are still in the discussion phase
• It fails to acknowledge that while there is diplomatic coordination between Macron, Starmer, and Zelensky ^[6], their approaches are actually separate rather than joint
• The framing benefits those who want to present a united Western front against Russia, potentially overshadowing the real diplomatic challenges and disagreements
• The statement might serve to pressure the White House, as there is currently no official White House invitation for such a joint meeting ^[2]

The reality appears to be that while there are coordinated diplomatic efforts to support Ukraine and influence Trump's position, these are happening through separate channels rather than the joint approach suggested in the original statement.