Macron, Harris seek to repair ties after sub spat

PARIS

US Vice President Kamala Harris met Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace for talks aimed at mending ties in the wake of a diplomatic rift over a submarine deal.

Harris landed in France early Tuesday with a packed week ahead, the first stop of which was a meeting with the French head of state to make amends following the announcement in September of the creation of an enhanced trilateral security partnership called AUKUS involving Australia, the UK and the US.

Under the alliance, a deal was struck in which Australia will purchase eight state-of-the-art nuclear powered submarines from the US or UK, discarding its Future Submarine Program (FSP) with France for diesel powered submarines in the process and costing France approximately €56 billion (US$64.2 billion) in lost revenue.

The French government was completely thrown by the AUKUS deal, saying they were never informed about its existence. Days later, they recalled France’s ambassadors to Washington and Canberra.

Harris and Macron acknowledged that the world is at the beginning of a new era and cooperation is “absolutely critical” going forward.

Macron had already met with US President Joe Biden at the G20 summit in Rome on Oct. 29 to discuss the situation.

“I have to say we had a fruitful meeting in Rome a few days ago with President Biden, which paved the way for the coming weeks, months and, I have to say, years,” he told the vice president.

Harris agreed, adding: “I do believe, and we share this belief, that we are at the beginning of a new era which presents us with many challenges but also many opportunities. When France and the United States have worked on challenges and opportunities in the past, we have always found great success.”

Harris will continue her diplomatic trip by delivering remarks at the Paris Peace Forum on Thursday, an event organized by President Macron. She will also participate in ceremonies commemorating the 1918 armistice that ended World War I, which is celebrated as Veterans Day in the US.