Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron held a press conference at the White House today. Also in attendance were Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
France and the United States are strengthening cooperation to defend core international principles of freedom and the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, Biden said.
The U.S. and France are cooperating on ways to tackle climate change, space activities, as well as military-to-military cooperation, Biden said. “My administration has built our foreign policy around the strength of our alliance and France is at the very heart of that commitment,” he said.
Biden thanked Macron for welcoming more than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees into his country. In addition, Israel and Lebanon have worked out historic maritime boundaries, thanks in part to Macron’s efforts at brokering the deal, Biden said.
Macron said France supports the Ukrainian armed forces and the civilians who are resisting Russia’s invasion. The United States has done much to provide security assistance to Ukraine, he said. With winter approaching, Russia’s targeting of the grid and other infrastructure has made survival for the Ukrainian civilians desperate, Macron said.
