Biden says he couldn’t connect with Macron — Analysis

French President Emmanuel Macron was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Joe Biden on his contested victory over Donald Trump back in November 2020, but he apparently wasn’t around to take the call when his US counterpart tried to return the favor after his re-election victory on Sunday night.

“I tried to talk to Emmanuel Macron last night,”Biden stated this to reporters on Monday. “I spoke to his staff, and he was at the Eiffel Tower having a good time. And I’m going to be talking to him today.”

Some well-wishers also had luck. According to reports, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president was among the European leaders who managed to get through Sunday’s meeting with Macron. Biden, along with other NATO head of states, quickly congratulated the French leader over Twitter. This was because many were concerned about the potential consequences of Marine Le Pen winning Macron’s election. The incumbent won by a narrow margin of 58.5% to 41.5 percent.

“Congratulations to Emmanuel Macron on his re-election,”Biden sent a tweet on Sunday. “France is our oldest ally and a key partner in addressing global challenges. I look forward to our continued close cooperation – including on supporting Ukraine, defending democracy and countering climate change.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram congratulating Macron and also felicitated him. “I sincerely wish you every success in state affairs, as well as good health and wellbeing.”

Biden finally spoke with Macron by telephone on Monday. The two leaders haven’t seen completely eye-to-eye on responding to Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine. Macron called for dialogue between Moscow and help to bring about peace. He has not followed the lead of his US counterpart or other NATO leaders when he names Putin “a terrorist”. “war criminal”And accuse Russian forces of complicity “genocide.” In fact, he suggested earlier this month that such rhetoric isn’t conducive to ending the conflict in Ukraine.

“Genocide has a meaning,”Macron spoke. “The Ukrainian people and Russian people are brotherly people. It’s madness what’s happening today. It’s unbelievable brutality and a return to war in Europe. However, it is also a reminder that I must look at all the facts and will continue my efforts to bring peace and stop war. I’m not sure if the escalation of words serves our cause.”

After Biden had called Putin “a” late last month “butcher”And he said, “cannot remain in power,”Macron responded that leaders need to be careful when talking about crisis. “We want to stop the war that Russia has launched in Ukraine without escalation – that’s the objective,”Macron spoke. “If this is what we want to do, we should not escalate things – neither with words nor actions.”

They also clashed in the past year. Macron even reprimanded Biden. “abandoning” pro-Western allies in Afghanistan and argued that the countries had a “moral responsibility” toward the Afghan people – remarks that were scrubbed from a White House summary of the conversation. Macron’s administration last September recalled its ambassador to Washington and accused Biden of behaving like Trump after Washington partnered with the UK to persuade Australia to scrap a submarine deal with France and instead buy their vessels.

To avoid embarrassing moments and gaffes, staffers usually arrange White House calls to foreign officials. Biden had been expected to press them for increased oil production in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war. But they declined to make calls to leaders from Saudi Arabia, UAE, and United Arab Emirates.