“Russia-Ukraine war: ‘We need to become brothers in arms once more” – French president Emmanuel Macron tells Joe Biden on state visit to White House.
By G9ija
French President, Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, December 1 visited the White House, his first official state visit since Joe Biden became president.
The visit aimed at shoring up the US-France alliance comes as Macron has emerged as a critical ally amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“Our hearts are warm to welcome such close friends to the White House,” Biden said at a formal arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn on the cold December morning.
“It’s a genuine honor to host you for the first state visit of my administration and to celebrate the current strength and vitality between France and the United States of America,” he continued.
“As war returns to the European soil, following Russia’s aggression to Ukraine and in light of the multiple crises our nations and our societies face, we need to become brothers in arms once more,” Macron said via a translator after Biden delivered remarks.
France, Biden said, is the United States’ “oldest ally” and an “unwavering partner,” referencing the history of the relationship from the Revolutionary War’s Marquis de Lafayette to the beaches of Normandy during World War II.
“The alliance between our two nations remains essential to our mutual defense,” he added.
Biden said both countries are united amid Russia’s “brutal war” in Ukraine and said that the two countries are working to ensure “democracies deliver” on numerous key issues.
He said the alliance will “grow stronger for decades to come”.
“France and the United States are once again defending the democratic values and universal human rights which are the heart of both our nations.”
“We need to become brothers in arms again” in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and we ha e a shared responsibility to protect democracies on both sides of the ocean that are being shaken by doubts.
“Our new frontiers are there, and it is our shared responsibility to respond to this,” the French president said.
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