The French ambassador to the United States is set to return to Washington, D.C. next week, following a much-needed heart-to-heart between President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, The Hill reports.
On Wednesday, the two world leaders spoke on the phone to discuss the elephant in the room — the U.S., U.K. and Australia's three-way defense pact — as well as France's resulting ire. Luckily, the rift was nothing a bit of communication — or, as Politico's Nahal Toosi put it, "marriage counseling" — couldn't fix.
"The two leaders agreed that the situation would have benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners," read a joint statement on the call. "President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Biden and Macron also agreed to a "process of in-depth consultations, aimed at creating the conditions for ensuring confidence and proposing concrete measures toward common objectives."
The statement then continued, in what The Economist's Sophie Pedder noted as a "key phrase secured by Macron": "The United States 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."
Biden and Macron will meet in person at the end of October to continue discussions. In any event, considering U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was ready to put the whole ordeal to bed, the call and subsequent statement really couldn't have come at a better time. Read more at The Hill.
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsionSpeed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deploymentSpeed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
