Macron says no comment on Trump's tweet attack

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said he had no comment to make in response to US President Donald Trump's series of tweets attacking him, arguing he preferred to hold out his diplomacy via dialogue rather than tweeting.

Speaking on the Charles de Gaulle vessel, Europe's only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Macron said he didn't conduct diplomacy via tweets or comments.

"All this does not matter. I will not have a debate with the President of the United States through tweets," he said, adding that Trump "is playing American politics, and I let him play American politics".

"At every moment of our history, we have been allies. Between allies, we must respect each other, I do not want to hear about the rest," he added.

In a series of tweets he sent shortly after Paris visit, Trump mocked Macron for falling approval ratings and criticized his recipe for Europe's defence cooperation and global trade.

"It was Germany in World Wars One and Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not," he tweeted.

In other message, he wrote: "The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26 percent, and an unemployment rate of almost 10 percent. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people - and rightfully so!"

"I think that what the French expect me to do is not responding to tweets, but pursuing this important story of our common security," Macron said.

Macron has made clear his differences with Trump notably on climate change, nuclear deal and nationalism approach. But, at the same time, he developed a strong relationship with him at a time when many European leaders are keeping a distance.

"The US is our historic ally and will continue to be. It's the ally with which we take all the risks, with which we carry out the most complicated operations. But being an ally doesn't mean being a vassal state," the French President said.

--IANS

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