Biden to speak to Macron ‘in the coming days’ amid diplomatic dust-up with France
“What I expect the President will do on that call is reaffirm our commitment to working with one of our oldest and closest partners on a range of challenges that the global community is facing. And he, of course, will discuss recent developments and our ongoing work together on a range of issues, certainly our shared interest in the Indo-Pacific but also a range of global challenges and issues,” Psaki said.
The effort to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines — a major step toward countering China as Biden works to build international backing for his approach to Beijing — is part of a new trilateral partnership among the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, dubbed “AUKUS.”
A day later, Macron recalled his ambassadors to Washington and Canberra, believed to be the first time the French have resorted to such a move in modern times.
In light of that move, Biden wants to speak soon with Macron about the “way forward,” a senior administration official said earlier Monday.
“We understand the French position,” the official said. “We don’t share their view in terms of how this all developed.”
Biden is currently not expected to speak with Macron on Monday, a White House official said.
In the briefing Monday, Psaki said Monday there were no plans to abandon the deal and pointed to remarks from Biden, during which the President acknowledged in remarks last week “that Francis is a substantial Indo-Pacific presence, and is a key partner and ally in strengthening security and prosperity.”
“But most importantly, we continue to look forward to our close alliance with France, one of our strongest partnerships as we work to address a range of issues in the world,” Psaki said.
CNN’s Maegan Vazquez contributed to this report.
