US President Joe Biden welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House Thursday, kicking off an official state visit aimed at shoring up the US-France alliance 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.
Following last year’s low point in French-American relations following the US-Australia submarine deal, the two presidents have forged a close relationship, as Biden highlighted in his opening remarks Thursday.
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” as he welcomed Macron and his delegation to Washington.
Following the Macrons’ arrival, the two leaders greeted dignitaries, observed a 21-gun salute, and inspected the troops on the South Lawn, keeping with the tradition of a formal arrival ceremony.
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