US President Joe Biden (78) and France’s Head of State Emmanuel Macron (43) have tried to get closer in the heated submarine dispute. The two presidents agreed on Wednesday in a telephone call for “in-depth consultations” between their governments, as the White House and the Elysée Palace announced in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, according to the US, the foreign ministers of the two countries spoke personally to each other on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The declaration of the two governments said that the talks should “create the conditions to ensure trust” and that “concrete measures towards common goals” should be proposed. The recalled French ambassador to the United States, Philippe Etienne, is due to return to Washington next week.
Meeting between Biden and Macron in October
Biden and Macron then want to meet in person in Europe at the end of October. At the end of October, the G20 summit will take place in the Italian capital, Rome, before the COP26 climate conference begins in Glasgow, Scotland.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke on Wednesday on the sidelines of a meeting of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council with his US counterpart Antony Blinken. As a US representative said, the two should meet again on Thursday for a bilateral discussion.
The submarine dispute had led to a deep rift between the two historically allied countries. The USA, Great Britain and Australia announced an Indo-Pacific alliance last week, which also includes the joint construction of nuclear submarines for Australia.
Because Australia then canceled a long-planned, multi-billion dollar submarine deal with France, Paris was extremely angry. The French government accused the US government, among other things, of acting behind its back.
Biden tried now in a phone call he requested with Macron to smooth things over. “The two heads of state agreed that the situation would have benefited from open consultations between allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners,” the joint statement said. In this regard, Biden has assured his “continuing commitment”.
France’s “strategic importance” for the USA
Biden emphasized the “strategic importance” of France and the EU in the Indo-Pacific – a region that is of great importance to the USA because of the growing influence of its rival China. The US President also recognized the “importance” of a stronger European defense system, “which makes a positive contribution to transatlantic and global security and complements NATO”.
He also announced that the US would expand its support for anti-terrorism missions by European countries in the Sahel region. Details were not given in the joint declaration.
Macron’s spokesman Gabriel Attal had said before the phone call that the French president was expecting “clarifications”. The conversation is also about “to clarify the circumstances under which this announcement was decided and to clarify the conditions of a renewed American engagement as an ally.”
EU stands behind France
In the dispute, the EU had backed France. While EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the treatment of France as “unacceptable”, EU Council President Charles Michel accused the USA of a “clear lack of transparency and loyalty”.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas described the actions of the USA on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN general debate as “irritating” and “sobering” – but then emphasized on Wednesday that it was important to ease the situation: “It is important that the irritations that exist be removed from the world. “
While the signs in the US-French relationship point to relaxation, there are no signs of rapprochement in the dispute with Australia. On Wednesday, the head of the French submarine builder Naval Group, Pierre Eric Pommellet, announced in the French newspaper “Le Figaro” that he would send Australia an invoice for the broken deal “in a few weeks”. (AFP)