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French envoy to return to US after fence-mending Biden-Macron call
In a joint statement issued after US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone for 30 minutes, the two leaders agreed to launch in-depth consultations to rebuild trust, and to meet in Europe at the end of October.
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In this file photo US President Joe Biden (L) and France's President Emmanuel Macron speak after the family photo at the start of the G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall on June 11, 2021. US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron spoke for the first time on September 22, 2021 since a row erupted over the sale of submarines to Australia, vowing to restore confidence damaged by what Paris saw as betrayal. Macron was left furious by Australia's decision last week to ditch a 2016 deal to buy diesel submarines from France in favour of nuclear-powered ones from the United States and Britain, which had been secretly negotiated. (AFP/Ludovic Marin)
T
he US and French presidents moved to mend ties on Wednesday, with France agreeing to send its ambassador back to Washington and the White House acknowledging it erred in brokering a deal for Australia to buy US instead of French submarines without consulting Paris.
In a joint statement issued after US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone for 30 minutes, the two leaders agreed to launch in-depth consultations to rebuild trust, and to meet in Europe at the end of October.
They said Washington had committed to step up "support to counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel conducted by European states" which US officials suggested meant a continuation of logistical support rather than deploying US special forces.
Biden's call to Macron was an attempt to mend fences after France accused the United States of stabbing it in the back when Australia ditched a $40 billion contract for conventional French submarines, and opted for nuclear-powered submarines to be built with US and British technology instead.
Outraged by the US, British and Australian deal, France recalled its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra.
"The two leaders agreed that the situation would have benefited from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners," the joint US and French statement said.
"President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard."
