PARIS (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would have a chance during talks in Paris on Tuesday to discuss restoring French trust in the United States following a row over a new Indo-Pacific security pact.
Blinken is in Paris seeking to rebuild diplomatic relations after the pact between the United States, Australia and Britain resulted in Canberra scuttling a $40 billion defence contract for French submarines.
Asked how he would reassure the French that the United States could be trusted, Blinken said ahead of his talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian: “We’ll have a chance to talk later.”
The French government has said it was stabbed in the back by its close allies and that it would take time for the wounds to heal. France briefly withdrew its ambassador to the United States over the affair.
(Reporting by Richard Lough; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alex Richardson)
