Biden-Macron 'friendly call' to salvage ties, French envoy to US will return

US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron had a "friendly" phone call on Wednesday to defuse tensions over submarine sales to Australia. The two leaders also promised to meet in person to repair the relationship.

The call, which the White House said lasted about 30 minutes, was the first between Biden and Macron since France recalled its ambassador over the surprise US announcement of a deal to build nuclear submarines for Australia. The deal killed a previous French agreement to sell conventional submarines.

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Paris called the US-Australian plan, which was launched as part of a new Indo-Pacific security group along with Britain, a stab in the back and also pulled its ambassador from Australia.

In a joint statement after the call, the two leaders vowed to launch "in-depth consultations... for ensuring confidence" and to meet in Europe at the end of October.
The statement also said Macron would order France's ambassador back to Washington next week.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the talk "was friendly" and Biden was "hopeful this was a step in returning to normal."