After the submarine controversy, the US Secretary of State will travel to France to try to rebuild the relationship

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit France next week as part of Joe Biden’s government efforts to try to ease tensions and other potentially longer lasting damage caused by the exclusion of Washington’s oldest ally of a new Indo-Pacific security initiative, the State Department said on Friday.

The ministry said that Blinken will travel to Paris from Monday for an international economic conference, but pointed out that He will also meet with French officials to discuss the breakdown in relations.

The US government has sought to change its relations with France and the European Union since the September 15 announcement of the Australia-United States-Great Britain Agreement, known as AUKUS, What canceled a multi-million dollar contract for Canberra’s purchase of submarines French.

All parties agree that it will take time to repair the links. The State Department said Blinken talks will target “Further solidify the vital relationship between the United States and France on a range of issues, including security in the Indo-Pacific region. “

“We recognize that this it will take time and will require hard work “said Karen Donfried, recently confirmed as Washington’s first diplomatic envoy to Europe.

Other issues under discussion will be “The climate crisis, the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the transatlantic relationship and working with our allies and partners to respond to global issues and opportunities”said the department.

The day before, the White House had announced that the national security adviser Jake Sullivan had met the French ambassador in Washington to try to restore confidence between the two countries. France said the AUKUS deal was “a stab in the back”.

Sullivan met the Ambassador Philippe Etienne on his return to Washington after being withdrawn from Paris by President Emmanuel Macron in an unprecedented demonstration of fury to protest against France’s exclusion from AUKUS, which seeks to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The tension between the two countries decreases after the president Joe Biden to speak by phone with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and recognize that the United States could have had better communication with its longtime ally.

Blinken will chair the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the French capital, which this year also commemorates the organization’s 60th anniversary, thus will travel accompanied by Presidential Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment Jose Fernández, among other members of the US administration.

Next, Blinken will travel to Mexico City on October 7-8 to co-chair the US delegation in the high-level bilateral security dialogue. In the Mexican capital, he will meet his counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, with whom he will seek “strengthen the strong bilateral relationship with Mexico “, according to the official State Department memo.

(With information from AP, EFE, AFP and Europa Press)

Read on: