US President Joe Biden opens up the possibility of speaking with Putin, “if he shows signs of wanting to end the war”, for possible negotiations on Ukraine. During the meeting with the French president Emmanuel Macronon a state visit to the White House, Biden thus took a step towards dialogue.
The French leader, perhaps also in view of an international conference in Paris on December 13 to collect aid for Kiev, continues to keep the door open for Putin, with whom he has announced his intention to speak in the next few days, convinced that “a negotiation is still possible”.
In the joint note issued after the meeting, the two presidents “strongly condemn war of Russia’s unlawful aggression against Ukraine and stress that intentionally targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure constitutes a war crime whose perpetrators must be held to account”.
“I’m ready to talk to Putin if it shows signs of wanting to end the war, but so far hasn’t. In that case, in coordination with my French and NATO friends, I will be happy to sit down with Putin and see what he wants and what he has in mind,” Biden said, while Macron said France would “never put pressure on Kiev ” for “an unacceptable compromise” and anticipated that “he will continue to talk to Putin because we are constantly seeking the conditions for peace. We always try to prevent escalation and achieve concrete results.
The United States and France reiterate the continuation of theirs defense support, on the part of Ukraine, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, including political, security, humanitarian and economic assistance for as long as it takes. This includes allocating significant resources to support Ukraine’s civilian resilience in the winter, including ramping up the delivery of air defense systems and equipment needed to repair the power grid.”
The other topics of the meeting
The two leaders have also found a meeting point on the US anti-inflation law which with its “super aggressive” subsidies to renewables, according to Macron, “risks splitting the West”. Concerns shared by the Europeans and expressed by the French leader also to the American parliamentarians. It was decided to discuss “practical measures to synchronize approaches” on the supply chain and on the green economy, from semiconductors to hydrogen and batteries for electric cars. The two presidents pledged to implement a “mutually beneficial” ecological transition, strengthening the partnership between the US and the EU on energy and climate.
Biden said he did not want to apologize for the anti-inflation law but specified that it was not his “intention to harm Europe or get the United States back on track at Europe’s expense” and that “adjustments can be made to involve more European countries”. An outstretched hand, then. Immediately picked up by Macron, who for his part urged Europe to “go faster and stronger” to have “the same industrial ambition” as the United States. “We want to succeed together, not against each other,” she added. Among the hypotheses, according to the media, also some exemptions for European companies.
The commitment on is more generic Beijing, with “continued coordination on concerns regarding China’s challenges to the international order, including human rights”, but also collaboration on global issues such as climate change. On this dossier, France did not want a hard line, sharing the more open one of the EU.
Instead, Biden and Macron have raised a wall againstIranpromising that they will prevent Teheran from acquiring nuclear weapons and demonstrating “respect” for the protests of the Iranian people, especially the “courageous” protests of young people and women.
