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Aukus alliance
ChinaDiplomacy

Blinken to meet with French officials to further repair breach in relationship over Aukus

  • US secretary of state, in Paris next week for OECD conference, will speak with French foreign minister about Indo-Pacific strategies, aides say
  • The meeting follows talks between US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, which led to France’s ambassador returning to Washington

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is to meet with French officials next week in Paris to further repair the diplomatic breach caused by the surprise announcement of the Aukus strategic partnership. Photo: Reuters
Robert Delaney
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with French officials in Paris next week while chairing an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conference, the latest step aimed at repairing a key bilateral relationship that frayed last month when President Joe Biden announced a new military alliance with Britain and Australia.
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Previewed on Friday by Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs assistant secretary Karen Donfried and Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs senior official Matt Murray, Blinken’s talks with the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, will be part of “a process of in-depth consultations going forward”, Donfried said. The OECD meeting will cover, among other issues, “the behaviours of non-market economies, including China”.

France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will meet with Blinken, State Department officials said. Photo: UNTV via AP
France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will meet with Blinken, State Department officials said. Photo: UNTV via AP

Blinken’s three days in Paris will start on Monday, and will follow a diplomatic blitz by Biden administration officials on Friday.

“We agree that the September 15 announcement would have benefited from better and more open consultation among allies,” Donfried said, reiterating the message that Blinken and other senior Biden administration officials have made following the diplomatic crisis that ensued after news of the so-called Aukus partnership.

“We recognise this will take time and will take hard work, and it will need to be demonstrated not only in words but also in deeds,” she added, saying that Blinken “will emphasise how the Franco-American partnership is one of our strongest and most enduring bilateral relationships”.

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