Emmanuel Macron said something out of character during his first interview with European newspapers as France’s president. And to the surprise of many, the comment may have actually brought him closer to President Trump—a man whose nationalism and anti-global sentiment Macron has taken pains to distinguish himself from.

Asked about his plans for Syria, Macron sounded as if he just got off the phone with Trump after a two-hour conversation. “The real change I’ve made on this question,” Macron told the reporters assembled in the presidential garden last week, “is that I haven’t said the deposing of Bashar al-Assad is a prerequisite for everything. Because no one has introduced me to his legitimate successor.”