French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian insisted on Wednesday on the need to continue the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria, during a first meeting with his new American counterpart Antony Blinken.
Mr. Le Drian underlined “
the importance of continuing our joint efforts to fight terrorism
” in the Middle East and in the Sahel, people around him said.
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Just before his successor Joe Biden arrived at the White House, President Donald Trump reduced the US military presence to just 2,500 troops in Iraq.
France is worried about a resurgence of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, against which the French military remains mobilized within an international coalition led by Washington.
The head of French diplomacy and the American secretary of state, who is also a perfect French speaker - he was educated in Paris - also spoke of "
the need for close coordination to respond to the Iranian crisis
".
The new US administration says it is ready to return to the Iran nuclear deal once Iran has resumed its commitments.
Iran, backed by Russia, is demanding exactly the opposite scenario, which augurs well for new and very complicated diplomatic maneuvers to save the agreement.
Jean-Yves Le Drian also "
insisted on the efforts made (by France, editor's note) for stability and reforms in Lebanon
".
French President Emmanuel Macron tried unsuccessfully to wrest the formation of a Lebanese government ready to undertake structural reforms to get the country out of the political and social rut.
But the United States has been very critical after exchanges between the head of state and the pro-Iranian Shiite movement of Hezbollah in Beirut.
"
We expect that there will be more American realism on what is possible or not given the circumstances in Lebanon,
" the French presidency stressed Tuesday to journalists from the Association de la presse diplomatique française (APDF ).
Read also: Nuclear: "It is urgent to tell Iran that this is enough", explains Jean-Yves Le Drian
Jean-Yves Le Drian also pleaded for "
a strengthened and rebalanced transatlantic relationship and Atlantic alliance
" as well as close coordination between the EU and the United States on "
the issues of trade and China
".
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