08 June 2024, Saturday, 18:11 818

Presidents Biden and Macron meeting in Paris and will talk about Israel and Ukraine

Editor: Daria Zubkova

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Fresh from commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, French President Emmanuel Macron will host US President Joe Biden on Saturday for a state visit that will be marked by pomp and parade, as well as talks on trade, Israel and Ukraine.

This is reported by Reuters.

The two Presidents, who share a warm relationship, despite past tensions over a submarine deal with Australia, will attend a welcoming ceremony with their spouses at the iconic Arc de Triomphe and a parade on the Champs-Élysées, followed by a policy meeting before visiting dinner

Biden hosted Macron for a state visit at the White House in 2022.

"France is ... our oldest and one of our deepest allies. And this will be an important moment to reaffirm that alliance and also to look to the future and what we should do together," the USA National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters earlier this week.

Sullivan said talks between the two Presidents will touch on russia's war against Ukraine, Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, and policy issues ranging from climate change to artificial intelligence and supply chains.

White House spokesman John Kirby said the countries will announce a plan to work together to enforce law and order at sea, and the US Coast Guard and the French Navy will discuss increased cooperation.

Biden and Macron are also expected to discuss strengthening NATO, and both have pledged that their countries will support Ukraine, although they have not yet agreed on a plan of using of frozen russian assets to help Kyiv.

On Friday, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris, apologizing for the months-long delay by the US Congress in approving the latest aid package, while Zelenskyy addressed the French National Assembly.

Speaking at the American Cemetery in Normandy on Thursday, the anniversary of the Allied landings against Nazi German occupiers on French beaches in World War II, Biden called on Western powers to continue their support for Ukraine.