Biden makes peace offering to Macron as Aukus row rumbles on

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Joe Biden has offered an olive branch to French president Emmanuel Macron to soothe tensions that erupted over France’s exclusion from a new trilateral security pact that deprived Paris of a long-planned submarine deal.

In a joint statement issued after a call between the two leaders, Biden appeared to concede that Paris had been left out discussions between the US, Australia and the UK that led to a new deal for nuclear-powered submarines.

“The two leaders agreed that the situation would have benefited from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners,” they said. “President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard.”

The two leaders also agreed to work on creating “conditions for ensuring confidence and proposing concrete measures toward common objectives”. They will meet in Europe at the end of October.

Macron had been outraged by the Aukus deal because he was unaware of the trilateral pact, and because he has set great store in France’s role as an Indo-Pacific power with citizens, island territories and 7,000 troops in the region. 

But while the US has been at pains to calm tensions and conciliate French anger, UK prime minister Boris Johnson suggested Macron needed “prenez un grip” and recognise that the deal would boost global security.

Speaking on a visit to Washington, the British premier also said Macron should “donnez-moi un break” and get over his anger.

“This is fundamentally a great step forward for global security,” Johnson said. “It’s three very like-minded allies standing shoulder to shoulder creating a new partnership for the sharing of technology. It’s not exclusive. It’s not trying to shoulder anybody out. It’s not adversarial towards China, for instance.”

France has been withering of Britain’s involvement in the deal. Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s foreign minister, suggested that Britain was a bit-part player, saying that “Great Britain in this matter is a bit of a fifth wheel on the carriage”.

Meanwhile, Clement Beaune, France’s Europe minister, suggested Johnson was confirming that the UK was a “vassal” of the US.

France recalled its ambassadors to the US, the UN and Australia over its exclusion from the trilateral Aukus deal and in protest at Canberra’s cancellation of a A$50bn (£26.6bn) diesel submarine deal with France in order to work with the US and Britain to build nuclear-propelled boats.

Macron has now decided that the French ambassador to Washington will return next week, according to the joint statement. “He will then start intensive work with senior US officials,” it said.

Before the call, a French official said the US was trying to repair the relationship in a “transactional” manner. According to the French side, Paris expected “clarifications” on why the US kept a European ally out of the loop on Indo-Pacific co-operation. 

Some British officials fear the dispute could lead to tougher French positions on sensitive issues including the Brexit trading relationship with Northern Ireland and on the policing of migrants trying to cross the English Channel from France to the UK.