Biden honours Macron with first state dinner
PRESIDENTS Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron have sat down for the centrepiece talks of a pomp-filled French state visit to Washington, with the two leaders eager to talk through the war in Ukraine, concerns about China and European dismay over Mr Biden’s climate law.
Mr Biden was to honour his French counterpart with the first state dinner of his presidency on Thursday evening, but first the two leaders met in the Oval Office.
At the top of the agenda is the war in Ukraine in which western powers try to maintain unity in the US and Europe to keep economic and military aid flowing to Kyiv.
“The choices we make today and the years ahead will determine the course of our world for decades to come,” Mr Biden said at an arrival ceremony.
Mr Macron at the start of the faceto-face meeting acknowledged the “challenging times” in Ukraine and called on the two nations to better “synchronise our actions” on climate.
“Our two nations are sisters in the fight for freedom,” Mr Macron said.
But he has made clear his concern about a new US law that favours American-made climate technology, including electric vehicles.