President Biden and President Emmanuel Macron of France burdened on Saturday how a lot they agree with one another about world affairs, together with the battle in Ukraine, at the same time as their nations have expressed sharply completely different views of the preventing in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
Appearing briefly collectively earlier than reporters after two days of D-Day remembrances, the 2 presidents declined to take any questions and papered over their stark variations in regards to the Middle East. Instead, they each asserted the enduring power of the American-French partnership on local weather, the financial system, European safety and cultural ties.
“Today, I proudly stand with France to support freedom and democracy around the world,” Mr. Biden mentioned, as the 2 males emerged from a closed-door assembly on the Élysée Palace.
“We see eye to eye on this war raging in Ukraine,” Mr. Macron famous, and he added that he hoped “all members of the G7 will agree to a $50 billion solidarity fund for Ukraine,” referring to the Group of 7 industrialized nations.
The French president’s feedback steered that the 2 leaders had reached widespread floor over a plan to leverage proceeds from frozen Russian belongings to supply an upfront mortgage of as much as $50 billion to Ukraine. American officers had mentioned heading into the assembly that France was the principle holdout for such a plan and that they have been hoping to win help throughout the Paris go to.
On Gaza, Mr. Macron famous his authorities’s help for an Israeli cease-fire proposal that Mr. Biden has strongly backed. But the French president additionally instantly challenged Israel to do extra to ship assist to Palestinians affected by the federal government’s bombardment.
“It is not acceptable that Israel should not open all checkpoints to humanitarian aid, as requested by the united international community for months,” Mr. Macron mentioned. He mentioned Israeli operations in Gaza “should stop.”
France has supported the International Criminal Court’s choice to hunt warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Yahya Sinwar, the chief of Hamas in Gaza. By distinction, Mr. Biden has condemned that effort, calling it an unconscionable comparability of the 2 leaders. France additionally voted within the United Nations in May to incorporate Palestine as a full member of the group, one thing the United States opposes.
Neither Mr. Biden nor Mr. Macron talked about any of the disagreements in regards to the Israel-Hamas battle.
In a departure from the same old follow when American presidents meet with overseas leaders, reporters from France and the United States weren’t allowed to ask questions after the Saturday statements, which lasted a mixed 16 minutes. In most instances, the 2 leaders permit reporters from every nation to ask at the very least two questions.
John Kirby, a nationwide safety spokesman for the White House, declined to clarify why that was not the case on Saturday.
“This was the arrangement that was made,” he advised reporters earlier within the week. “As you know, with any bilateral meeting or, in this case, a state visit, all of that is hashed out between the two sides. And it was decided in our discussions and our planning for this visit that that’s what they would do: that they would come out and make statements to the press.”
Mr. Macron’s heat embrace of Mr. Biden regardless of the tensions within the relationship stood in sharp distinction to the temper when President Donald J. Trump visited in November 2018. Just minutes earlier than Air Force One landed in Paris then, Mr. Trump posted a message on-line accusing Mr. Macron of being “very insulting.” Mr. Macron then gave a speech assailing nationalism simply weeks after Mr. Trump declared himself an American nationalist.
On Saturday, against this, Mr. Macron praised Mr. Biden as “a partner who respects Europeans,” a line that appeared like a distinction from Mr. Trump, who usually denigrated European leaders. “Thank you for being at Europe’s side,” Mr. Macron mentioned.
“You’ve become a good friend,” Mr. Biden mentioned in response.