During a phone call on Wednesday, both agreed to meet in Europe at the end of October, according to a joint statement from both governments that the White House spread. Macron also decided that the French ambassador should return to Washington next week.
Last week, without consulting its allies, the US launched a security pact with Australia and Great Britain in the Indo-Pacific, thus triggering a deep diplomatic crisis with France. The pact shattered a multi-billion dollar submarine deal between Australia and France, which led to angry reactions in Paris. Macron had the ambassadors from the USA and Australia temporarily withdrawn – an extremely unusual measure among allies.
Biden had finally asked Macron to call him to settle the differences. The joint statement said that the presidents had agreed to start a process of intensive consultations in order to build trust and propose concrete steps with a view to common goals. The planned meeting is part of it.
