白宫周三在与法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙办公室的一份联合声明中表示，拜登总统首次承认，与法国就最近的国防协议产生的外交影响本可以得到更好的处理。
拜登和马克龙周三通了电话，试图缓和美国与澳大利亚和英国达成的国防伙伴关系带来的外交影响。
白宫和爱丽舍宫的声明称:“两位领导人一致认为，盟友之间就法国和我们的欧洲伙伴的战略利益进行公开磋商会有利于局势的发展。”。“拜登总统表达了他在这方面的持续承诺。”
这份和解声明可能表明，在拜登同意与澳大利亚分享核潜艇技术后，法国可能会缓和对他的批评。
法国领导人将拜登与他的前任唐纳德·特朗普总统相提并论，称美国的这一协议令关键盟友法国感到意外——这导致澳大利亚取消了与法国正在进行的一项重大协议。
当被记者问及时，白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基不愿说拜登道歉了。
“他承认本可以进行更多的磋商，”她在周三的简报会上表示。“但同样，这一呼吁真正集中在前进和恢复正常的道路上，以及我们必须与前方的法国人一起做的重要工作。”
普萨基也没有提及白宫发布的联合声明的英文版和爱丽舍宫发布的法文版之间的微小差异。
在英文中，声明写道两人“一致认为公开磋商会有利于局势的发展”，而在法文中，声明说他们“一致认为公开磋商……会有助于避免这种情况。”
声明称，拜登和马克龙计划10月在欧洲会面。拜登将于当月前往苏格兰格拉斯哥参加气候危机峰会，尽管双方没有透露领导人计划在哪里会面。
声明称，与此同时，马克龙将于下周让法国驻华盛顿大使回国——法国在回应国防新闻时召回了他——大使将“随后与美国高级官员开始紧张的工作”。
白宫和爱丽舍宫表示，两位领导人“决定开启一个深入磋商的进程，旨在为确保信任创造条件，并为共同目标提出具体措施”。“他们将于10月底在欧洲会面，以达成共识，并保持这一进程的势头。”
声明还称，拜登“重申了法国和欧洲在印度-太平洋地区参与的战略重要性。”
普萨基说，拜登只认为自己应对最近的事态发展负责。
她说:“我们总是希望评估如何改进我们的咨询方式。
Biden agrees with France's Macron that sub snub could have been handled better
President Joe Biden for the first time admitted the diplomatic fallout with France over a recent defense deal could have been better handled, the White House said Wednesday in a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron's office.
Biden and Macron spoke on the phone Wednesday, in a bid to smooth over the diplomatic fallout from a defense partnership the U.S. struck with Australia and the United Kingdom.
"The two leaders agreed that the situation would have benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners," the statement from the White House and the Élysée Palace said. "President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard."
The reconciliatory note could signal that France may tone down its criticism of Biden after he agreed to share nuclear submarine technology with Australia.
France's leaders have compared Biden to his predecessor, President Donald Trump, saying the U.S. surprised France, a key ally, with the agreement -- which resulted in Australia scuttling a major deal that had been underway with France.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki wouldn't say Biden apologized, when asked by a reporter.
"He acknowledged there could have been greater consultation," she said during a briefing on Wednesday. "But again, this call was really focused on the path forward and returning back to normal and the important work we have to do with the French ahead."
Psaki also did not address a small difference in the English-language version of the joint statement released by the White House and the French-language version released by the Élysée Palace.
In English, the statement read that the two men "agreed that the situation would have benefitted from open consultations," while in French, it said they "agreed that open consultations… would have helped avoid this situation.”
Biden and Macron plan to meet in Europe in October, according to the statement. Biden is set to head to Glasgow, Scotland, that month for a summit on the climate crisis, although the two sides did not say where the leaders planned to meet.
Meanwhile, Macron will return the French ambassador to Washington next week -- France had recalled him in response to the defense news -- and the ambassador will who will "then start intensive work with senior U.S, officials," the statement reads.
The two leaders "have decided to open a process of in-depth consultations, aimed at creating the conditions for ensuring confidence and proposing concrete measures toward common objectives," the White House and the Élysée Palace said. "They will meet in Europe at the end of October to reach shared understandings and maintain momentum in this process."
The statement also said Biden "reaffirms the strategic importance of French and European engagement in the Indo-Pacific region."
Psaki said Biden held only himself responsible for recent developments.
"We always look to assess how we can make improvements to how we do consultations," she said.
