“All of Europe is threatened by Russia, the stakes are very high”: US President Joe Biden said this in a press conference in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, thanking “European allies” for the work done so far and support for Ukraine (LIVE UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT). Macron today thanked Biden for “the United States’ commitment” to Ukraine. “In this conflict – said the French president in the joint statement to the press after the working lunch – the security and stability of our Europe are at stake”. “On the question of Ukraine – he added – our opinion is the same, that of respect for international law, of the freedom of peoples to dispose of themselves”. Regarding the stalemate on military assistance in the US Congress for which he apologized yesterday to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden said he would have preferred “if aid to Ukraine had been released six months ago, but in the end there ‘we did it’.
“We rejoice at the release of the hostages”
On the front of the conflict in the Middle East, the two leaders commented on the news of the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza: “We rejoice at the release of the four Israeli hostages”, said Macron alongside Joe Biden at the end of the meeting at the Elysée . “We will not stop until all the hostages return home and a ceasefire is reached”, Biden’s promise. Both presidents, meeting at the Elysée Palace, said they were “determined to exert the necessary pressure on Iran”. Macron also reportedly wanted “ever closer cooperation” with Washington.
“Act to respond to the challenges of our time”
“Our two countries will continue to act to respond to the challenges of our time”, the French president said again at the Elysée. In this perspective, Macron mentioned in particular the joint initiatives for more effective taxation and “strengthened cooperation on a bilateral level”. He then congratulated Biden on the imminent entry into service of “the first American TGV (high-speed train) built by Alstom”, a leading French group in trains and railway structures.
