PM and Macron agree to move forward after her ‘friend or foe’ jibe
THE PRIME Minister held conciliatory talks with Emmanuel Macron yesterday after questioning whether he was a ‘friend or foe’.
Liz Truss avoided difficult issues such as the Channel migrant crisis and the Northern Ireland Protocol as she sought to smooth over relations with the French President.
Downing Street said the two leaders had a ‘constructive’ half hour meeting in New York, where they are both attending the UN General Assembly.
Discussions are said to have focused on energy security and the need for a united response on Ukraine.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, a Whitehall source acknowledged the PM may need to bury the hatchet with the French President after she jokingly questioned whether he was a ‘friend or foe’ during the Tory leadership contest.
The source said: ‘That comment obviously didn’t land well with him, but he’s a politician – he understands that things get said during the heat of a campaign. In the end we have a very strong relationship with France – it will be fine.’
Speaking afterwards, Mr Macron appeared happy to put the issue in the past, saying: ‘I now believe in proof, in results.
‘There is a will to re-engage, to move on and to show that we are allies and friends in a complex world.’
Miss Truss’s spokesman confirmed they did not discuss the post-Brexit agreement on Northern Ireland or migrant crossings, which have not abated.
He said the Government intends to resolve protocol issues with the EU, adding: ‘This is not an issue that necessarily we believe can be solved through one single EU country.’