U.S. - France: Presidents meet in Rome

Biden and Macron rebuild their relationship after a "clumsy" move by the U.S.

Biden visits Rome for the first time as president for the G20 Summit. On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Biden met and discussed the diplomatic crisis of last month. The relationship between these old country allies has been put to the test as the U.S.-Australia (AUKUS) alliance, set a new submarine sales agreement which canceled the Australian-French submarine deal from 2016.

Biden admitted "What we did was clumsy" and continues to explain "I was under the impression certain things had happened that hadn't happened. And - but I want to make it clear: France is an extremely, extremely valued partner - extremely - and a power in and of itself". Furthermore, Biden said that he was under the impression that France was informed long before that the deal was not going through and that he did not know this was not the case.

When Macron was asked to comment on what Biden had just said and if the relationship is repaired, Macron responded that what needed to be clarified had been clarified and that the importance lies in avoiding such situation in the future by having a stronger coordination and cooperation. He ended his response with "what really matters now is what we will do together in the coming weeks, the coming months, the coming years".

France being the oldest and most loyal ally of the U.S. is looking at future actions by the U.S.. Their relationship remains strong and they are launching a series of cooperations to further strengthen their bond.

Source: Remarks by Biden and Macron