■ France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Angela Merkel discussed international crises.
Paris meeting just days ahead of German vote
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris on Thursday to discuss international crises and European issues, days before elections that will determine who succeeds her after 16 years in office.
Key topics include the diplomatic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the fight against Islamic extremists in Africa’s Sahel region and European Union affairs, both leaders said before their meeting, to be followed by a working dinner.
The meeting comes ahead of Germany’s parliamentary elections on Sept. 26. Merkel has announced she won’t seek a fifth term.
Although Germany will be putting together a new government after the election, “we want to make everything possible on the German side so that there is no standstill on the necessary decisions that need to be made,” Merkel said. In Germany, the outgoing chancellor stays on until a new coalition government is formed, which can take weeks or months.
Macron said he was closely monitoring the political developments in Germany. Until a new government is formed, “dear Angela Merkel and myself will continue to work hand in hand on the big issues on which we seek to bring Franco-german solutions,” he said.
On Afghanistan, Macron and Merkel said they would discuss how to extract remaining European citizens and Afghans who are under threat, and how to support neighboring nations hosting Afghan refugees.
“We will of course also have to consider what the end of the NATO deployment in Afghanistan means for us and our future missions in connection with the fight against terrorism, and what lessons we draw from its unsuccessful end, if you look at the aims we had imagined,” Merkel said.
Macron pushed for greater European “autonomy” regarding the world’s crises, citing the “fight against terrorism” in Libya and in Africa’s Sahel region.
France has over 5,000 troops deployed in the Sahel to fight Islamic extremists. Paris announced plans to nearly halve that force in the coming years. Germany has several hundred soldiers in United Nations stabilization and European Union training missions in Mali.
Both governments expressed concern this week at reports on the possible deployment of Russian mercenaries in Mali.
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-karrenbauer tweeted on Wednesday that, if confirmed, “that puts into question the basis of the mandate” for German soldiers in Mali.