Biden assures that he will not speak to Putin without first “consulting” with his European allies

There are no plans for a meeting between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin that could lay the groundwork for a negotiated solution in Ukraine. And there are none because for that it would be necessary for Putin to be willing to withdraw the troops from the country he has invaded, “and apparently he is not going to do it,” said the US president yesterday, during a press conference with his best European ally, Emmanuel Macron.

Their visit to the White House led to an intimate dinner for the two presidential couples on Wednesday night at a luxurious Washington restaurant overlooking the Potomac River, from which they enjoyed the lighting of the Christmas tree. “This is the first time in a long, long time that I have gone out to dinner privately in Washington, but I had the protection of the French government,” Biden joked. The president also entertained his guests yesterday with the first state dinner of his presidency, marked by the pandemic, in which more than 200 Maine lobsters were served, organized under the supervision of the first lady, Jill Biden, to whom Brigitte Macron gave away a copy of ‘Madame Bovary’, written by Gustave Flaubert, and a collection of essays by Albert Camus.

In the absence of Angela Merkel, Macron has become the quintessential European leader who carries the most weight in Washington. Biden, a convinced multilateralist who has chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for many years, wants to strengthen unity with allies in dealing with Russia and show a common front in defending Ukraine. The war is already heading for its first anniversary next February. Given the steadfastness of the Zelensky government in not negotiating with its invader, many believe that the only way to stop the carnage that is bleeding Ukraine and Europe is a one-on-one between the two superpowers, which seem to be fighting a proxy war in Ukraine.

“I have no immediate plans to contact Mr. Putin,” Biden said. “If you really care and are looking for a way to end the war, then in consultation with my French friend and my NATO friends, I would be delighted to sit down with Putin to see what is on his mind.” , announced the tenant of the White House. Biden is convinced that Putin miscalculated “in each of the initial steps he took.” The Russian dictator thought that his troops would be welcomed with open arms by the Russian-speaking Ukrainian population. “He talked about himself as if he was going to be another Peter the Great,” Biden recalled. And how does he now get out of the circumstances he has gotten himself into? I am prepared to talk to him and find out what he is willing to do, but only in consultation with my NATO allies. I’m not going to do it on my own,” he promised.

No pressure

Neither of the two heads of state says they have the slightest intention of putting pressure on Ukraine to negotiate with Russia or reach any kind of compromise “that is not acceptable to them,” Macron stressed. “Ukrainians must decide the moment and the conditions in which they will negotiate on their territory and their future,” he defended, adding that they must “return to being brothers in arms.”

The part of the European defense for which both have committed to “a more robust, integrated and coherent search to build individual and collective resilience against military and non-military threats that promote international stability” is the easy part of the meeting. “Both presidents recognize the importance of a stronger and more capable European defense that is complementary and interoperable with NATO,” the joint summit statement said.

The stumbling block lies in the economic part of bilateral relations and, specifically, the protectionism contained in the law to fight inflation that, in essence, provides subsidies to US industry and conditions them to the protectionism of ‘America First’ that leaves out to the European industry. Although he does not recognize it, Macron arrived in Washington willing to use all his charms to convince the US president to find a way to incorporate his country and Europe into the exceptions that he has extended to Mexico and Canada. It is above all the semiconductors and high-power batteries for electric cars on which the United States has bet its energy independence and future against climate change.

The French president recognized that what the president and the US Congress were looking for was to create job opportunities for the middle class of his country, essential to succeed in the energy transition, without thinking about the consequences that this had for Europe. “France has not simply come looking for an exemption,” he said, “just to discuss the consequences of that legislation. And the news that emerges from those circumstances is that we have no choice but to work together.”

The president says he believes in the need to “resynchronize” the agendas and instruct his teams to continue working “in cooperation and coordination to find solutions.” Macron says he did not come “just looking for love”, but that is what he found for now, affection and will for the future, without Biden, on the defensive, going to “apologize” for “a law that Paris sees as protectionist”. warned the US president. “We will continue to create industrial jobs in the United States so we don’t depend on anyone, but we will not do it at the expense of Europe,” he promised.