France’s envoy to return to US after Macron, Biden talks

France will send its ambassador back to Washington next week after French President Emmanuel Macron and President Joe Biden agreed during a call Wednesday to satisfy next month over a submarine spat that sent relations between the longtime allies into a tailspin.

The two heads of state “have decided to open a process of in-depth consultations, aimed toward creating the conditions for ensuring confidence,” the Elysee and therefore the White House said during a joint statement. Macron and Biden will meet at the top of October in Europe, the statement said.

In an unprecedented move, France recalled its ambassador after the U.S., Australia and Britain announced a replacement Indo-Pacific defense deal last week. As a part of the pact, Australia will cancel a multibillion-dollar contract to shop for diesel-electric French submarines and acquire U.S. nuclear-powered vessels instead.

The French ambassador will “have intensive work with senior U.S. officials” after his return to the us , the statement said.

Biden and Macron agreed “that things would have benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners,” it said. Biden “conveyed his ongoing commitment therein regard.”

Biden reaffirmed within the statement “the strategic importance of French and European engagement within the Indo-Pacific region.”

The European Union unveiled last week a replacement strategy for enhancing economic, political and defense ties within the vast area stretching from India and China through Japan to Southeast Asia and eastward past New Zealand to the Pacific.The us also “recognizes the importance of a stronger and more capable European defense, that contributes positively to transatlantic and global security and is complementary to NATO,” the statement said.

No decision has been made about the French ambassador to Australia, who was also recalled last week, the Elysee said, adding that no call with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was scheduled.

Earlier Wednesday, Macron’s office said the French president was expecting “clarifications and clear commitments” from Biden, who had requested the decision .

French officials described as a “crisis of trust” last week’s announcement of the Indo-Pacific deal, with Macron being formally informed only a couple of hours beforehand. The move had prompted fury in Paris, with French secretary of state Jean-Yves Le Drian calling it a “stab within the back.”

Paris is now calling for “acts, not words only,” Macron’s office said.

France’s European Union partners agreed Tuesday to place the dispute at the highest of the bloc’s political agenda, including at an EU summit next month.

Following the Macron-Biden call, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in ny with EU policy chief Josep Borrell because the administration worked to repair the damage done to broader EU-U.S. relations by the deal.
France’s European Union partners agreed Tuesday to place the dispute at the highest of the bloc’s political agenda, including at an EU summit next month.

Following the Macron-Biden call, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in ny with EU policy chief Josep Borrell because the administration worked to repair the damage done to broader EU-U.S. relations by the deal.

Speaking to reporters on a visit to Washington, Johnson said the deal was “fundamentally an excellent breakthrough for global security. It’s three very like-minded allies standing shoulder-to-shoulder, creating a replacement partnership for the sharing of technology.”

“It’s not exclusive. It’s not trying to shoulder anybody out. It’s not adversarial towards China, as an example .”

The deal has widely been seen as a part of American efforts to counter a more assertive China within the Indo-Pacific region.