Macron tells ABC News' David Muir: 'Hormuz Strait was probably underestimated'

The French president sat down with David Muir for an exclusive interview.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with ABC News' David Muir, French President Emmanuel Macron said the "main objective" of his meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday was "to find the right deal in order to open" the Strait of Hormuz and address the escalating global energy crisis that has caused the price of gas, diesel and jet fuel to spike.

Macron told Muir that when the war started, "the Iranian regime discovered they had this card in their hands," in their ability to close the strait. When asked whether that was a "blind spot" for Trump, Macron responded "I will not here blame anybody. We are where we are. I think the U.S -- I mean, your country -- is the one able to fix this issue, and we need you."

He added that the situation with the strait "was probably underestimated, and today we have to fix this issue."

When Muir asked the French president whether he would offer up his nation's military to help reopen the strait, Macron replied, "I don't want to engage in a confrontation with any country, but we are ready to be more engaged in order to protect some capacities in order to make this transit possible, yes."

Macron also criticized the decision to go to war in the first place, saying "Having a regime change by bombing a country is not something I think feasible." He added, "And for me, it's not a good option, because it doesn't work. And we did this mistake several times in the past decades."

Responding to Trump's complaints that "The U.S. is spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and [European allies] are not there for us," Macron told Muir France respects the U.S. and considers itself a "good ally."

Macron added "But when you want to engage people, you strategize with them, and you ask them before launching a war, and we decided not to join this war because we considered, and I still consider, it was not the right option."

With Macron warning about intensifying Russian threats towards Europe, Muir asked whether he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin when he said Russia has "no aggressive intentions."

"No," Macron responded. "I don't buy when President Putin say years ago he wanted peace and make peace. This is not true. And I don't buy when he say he doesn't -- he's not aggressive with -- with Europeans. This is not true."

Macron told Muir he had a "very good discussion" with Trump regarding Russia's war in Ukraine while in New York this week.

"My conviction is that your president has a fair assessment now of the situation, that Russia is not delivering what they wanted, that Ukraine is resisting with a lot of bravery and innovation, and that we have to help them," he said.

Asked about his relationship with Trump, Macron told Muir that he and Trump have a "very good" relationship, and while they sometimes disagree, "we have always been extremely frank to each other."

The French president said he believes Ukraine is an area where he has been able to "convince" Trump.