US tries to make nice with France after Australia sub snub

By MATTHEW LEE
AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit France as the Biden administration tries to smooth over hurt feelings and other damage caused by excluding America’s oldest ally from a new Indo-Pacific security initiative. The State Department says Blinken will visit Paris next week for an international economic conference and will meet with French officials to discuss the issue. Friday’s announcement came as Blinken met with the French ambassador to the U.S. to try to restore trust between the countries, a day after Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan had similar talks with the envoy. The ambassador just returned to Washington after having been recalled to Paris to protest the exclusion of France and the European Union from a new Australian-British-U.S. security strategy.