President Biden And President Macron Talk For 30 Minutes On The Phone, French Ambassador Returns To Washington

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron moved quickly to improve relations between the two countries, with Paris agreeing to send its ambassador back to duty in Washington.

At the same time, the White House also acknowledged mistakes in brokering a deal for Australia to buy US submarines instead of France, without consulting Paris first.

In a joint statement issued after speaking for 30 minutes on the phone, the two leaders agreed to launch in-depth consultations to rebuild trust and meet in Europe at the end of October.

They said Washington had committed to increasing support for counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel by European countries, which US officials said meant continued logistical support rather than deploying special forces.

President Biden's call to President Macron is an attempt to improve relations between the two countries, after France accused the United States of stabbing him in the back when Australia canceled a USD 40 billion contract for a conventional French submarine, opting for a nuclear one to be built with the US and UK technology.

Angered by the US, UK, and Australian deal, France withdrew its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra.

"The two leaders agreed that the situation would benefit from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic importance to France and our European partners," the US and France joint statement said.

"President Biden conveyed his continued commitment to this," the statement continued.

Separately, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, interacting for the first time since the submarine crisis, met on the sidelines of a UN meeting, an official said.

The two top diplomats are likely to hold separate bilateral meetings on Thursday.

"We hope they will have some time together bilaterally tomorrow," the official said, adding Washington "strongly welcomes" France and the European Union's deep involvement in the Indo-Pacific.

Earlier on Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki described the phone call as "friendly" and sounding hopeful of improving relations.

"The president has had a friendly phone call with the French president, during which they agreed to meet in October and continue close consultation and cooperation on various issues," he told reporters.

Asked if Biden apologized to Macron, he said: "He acknowledged that there could have been greater consultation."