French president tells his US counterpart that their respective countries should “become brothers in arms again”
There are no plans for a meeting between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin that could lay the groundwork for a negotiated settlement in Ukraine. And there aren’t, because that would require Putin to be willing to withdraw troops from the country he invaded, “and apparently he’s not going to do that,” the US president said yesterday at a press conference with his closest European ally, Emmanuel Macron.
Their visit to the White House led to an intimate dinner for the two presidential couples on Wednesday night at an upscale Washington restaurant overlooking the Potomac River, where they enjoyed the Christmas tree lights. “This is the first time in a long, long time that I went out to dinner privately in Washington, but I had the protection of the French government,” Biden joked. The president also entertained guests yesterday with the first state dinner of his presidency marked by the pandemic, serving more than 200 Maine lobsters, hosted overseen by the first lady, Jill Biden, to whom Brigitte Macron presented a copy of “Madame Bovary’, written by Gustave Flaubert, and a collection of essays by Albert Camus.
In the absence of Angela Merkel, Macron has become the ultimate European leader who wields the most weight in Washington. Biden, a staunch multilateralist who has chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for many years, wants to strengthen unity with allies in dealing with Russia and show a common front in Ukraine’s defense. The war is already moving towards its first anniversary in February. Given the Zelensky government’s steadfastness in not negotiating with its invader, many believe that the only way to stop the carnage bleeding Ukraine and Europe is a one-on-one between the two superpowers, which are a proxy appear to be at war. in Ukraine.
“I have no immediate plans to contact Mr. Putin,” Biden said. “If you really care and are looking for a way to end the war, I would be very happy, in consultation with my French friend and my NATO friends, to sit down with Putin and see what is on his mind. the tenant announced. of the White House. Biden is convinced that Putin miscalculated “with each of the first steps he took”. The Russian dictator thought his troops would be welcomed with open arms by the Russian-speaking Ukrainian population. “He talked about himself as if he were going to be another Peter the Great,” Biden recalled. “And how will he get out of the circumstances he’s in now? I’m willing to talk to him and find out what he’s willing to do, but only in consultation with my NATO allies. I’m not going to do it alone.” he promised.
Neither of the two heads of state says they have the slightest intention of pressuring Ukraine to negotiate with Russia or to reach a compromise “that is unacceptable to them,” Macron stressed. “The Ukrainians must determine the moment and the conditions on which they will negotiate their territory and their future,” he defended, adding that they must “become brothers-in-arms again.”
The part of European defense for which both have committed to “a more robust, integrated and coherent quest to build individual and collective resilience against military and non-military threats that promote international stability” is the easy part of the encounter . “Both presidents recognize the importance of a stronger and more capable European defense that is complementary to and interoperable with NATO,” the joint summit statement said.
The stumbling block lies in the economic part of bilateral relations and in particular in the protectionism contained in the Anti-Inflation Act, which essentially provides subsidies to US industry and conditions them to the protectionism of ‘America First’, that leaves to the European industry. Although he may not admit it, Macron arrived in Washington willing to use all his charms to convince the US president to find a way to include his country and Europe in the exceptions he has extended to Mexico and Canada. It is mainly semiconductors and high-performance batteries for electric cars on which the United States has staked its energy independence and future against climate change.
The French president recognized that what the president and the US Congress were looking for was to create jobs for his country’s middle class, essential for the energy transition to succeed, without thinking about the consequences it had for Europe. “France is not just looking for an exemption,” he said, “just to discuss the implications of that legislation. And the news that emerges from those circumstances is that we have no choice but to work together.”
The president says he believes in the need to resynchronize agendas and instruct his teams to continue working “in collaboration and coordination to find solutions.” Macron says he didn’t come “just looking for love” but that’s what he found for now, affection and will for the future, without Biden getting on the defensive and “apologizing” for “a law that made Paris as protectionist view”. “. warned the US president. “We will continue to create industrial jobs in the United States so as not to depend on anyone, but we will not do it at the expense of Europe,” he promised.
Source: La Verdad
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