Pompeo begins a tour in Paris that will take you to the Middle East
The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, begins a long tour in Paris on Monday with an interview with the French President, Emmanuel Macron, which will take him to various capitals in the Middle East and the Caucasus.
The French State Department highlighted the historic ties between France and the United States on the eve of Mike Pompeo's visit. A visit that remained discreet and took place at the request of the Americans, is specified in Paris.
The transition period complicated diplomatic relations, but there was no shortage of topics for discussion. On the US side, the importance of transatlantic economic cooperation, a key alliance within NATO, a convergence of views on Russia and an unwavering partnership in the fight against terrorism were mentioned.
Pompeo, who spent a private weekend in Paris with his wife, was received at the Elysée Palace by French President Emmanuel Macron, who congratulated the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, on 10 November after winning the US presidential election against Trump.
A few hours ago Emmanuel Macron received the head of American diplomacy Mike Pompeo in a totally new sequence, while Donald Trump has yet to admit defeat and Paris has already set its sights on the new US president-elect, Joe Biden.
The French head of state met with the secretary of state at the end of the morning at the Elysée Palace, away from the cameras and microphones. The same goes for French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who met his counterpart just before.
The executive stressed that he had received Mike Pompeo at his request, "in full transparency with President-elect Joe Biden's team", at a time when Paris wants to see a refounding of the transatlantic relationship on the occasion of the change of US administration.
But for the time being it is President Donald Trump who remains at the helm of the world's leading power and it is with his administration that international issues must be addressed, stressed the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian. "It was normal-and respectful of the American institutions-that he should be received", said a French diplomatic source, without further details, during Donald Trump's term of office, which lasted until 20 January.
In a television interview on Friday, Le Drian insisted that "for now" Pompeo is his "counterpart", and that is until the transfer of power at the White House on 20 January. That is why he intends to discuss "many difficult issues" with him, such as the situation in Iraq and Iran, the fight against terrorism, the "difficulties" in the Middle East and relations with China.
The French minister furthermore stated that there are some messages Paris wishes to convey to him, such as that the United States should not speed up the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan and Iraq in view of the risk of further destabilising these countries.
Washington indicated that transatlantic action in economic and security matters, as well as action against terrorism and other world threats, will be on the menu of its secretary of state's talks in Paris.
On his Twitter account, on landing in Paris, Pompeo recalled that France is "the oldest friend and ally" of the United States and that it is linked by a transatlantic relationship built on shared values: democracy, freedom and the rule of law.
From Paris, Pompeo will travel to Turkey, a country that has bad relations with France that have deteriorated considerably in recent weeks with multiple frictions that have even degenerated into personal attacks by the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Macron.
France has not failed to point out the paradox of a NATO partner like Turkey behaving in this way, and it would not be surprising if the US secretary of state were to attempt to lower this tension.
Not only to preserve the integrity of the Atlantic Alliance, but also to preserve its anchorage with its European partners in Ankara, bearing in mind its growing role on the diplomatic chessboard in the Middle East, the Caucasus and North Africa.
The tour of the head of US diplomacy will then continue in Georgia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
