Biden welcomes Macron to White House

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 honoured his French counterpart with the first state dinner of his presidency last night, but first the two leaders met in the Oval Office.

At the top of the agenda is the nine-month-old 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 as it tries to rep el russian forces.

"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 face-to-face meeting acknowledged the "challenging times" in Ukraine and called on the two nations to better" synchroniseour actions" on climate.