Biden and Macron spoke about the trade conflict while pledging support against Russia.

On Thursday, Presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron agreed to maintain a unified front against Russia despite mounting concerns over dwindling American and European backing for Ukraine’s military campaign. Additionally, Biden gave a hint that he would be open to changing parts of his landmark climate legislation that have alarmed France and other European partners.

The first state dinner hosted by Biden for a foreign leader under the COVID-19 shadow presidency was held in honor of Macron on Thursday night. However, the response to Biden’s optimistic remarks could not go as smoothly as that elaborate event. Democrats warned Thursday that they were not going to reintroduce climate legislation, and Republicans who are set to take control of the House have shown less inclination to spend billions on Ukraine than Biden.

Despite all the positive remarks, Macron’s trip to Washington has actually been somewhat subdued by his criticism of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and the difficulties that both leaders are facing in light of the rising costs of maintaining the flow of military and economic aid to Kyiv in the absence of a Russian invasion end.

Despite their disagreements, Biden and Macron aimed to emphasize how strong the partnership between the United States and France still is and how the West must continue to stand up against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conflict in Ukraine.

As I said, we’re going to stand together against this violence, and now we reinforce it, according to Biden. “Putin believes that by assaulting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, cutting off electricity to Europe to raise costs and exacerbate the food crisis, he can shatter the will of everyone who opposes his imperial goals. He will fail because he is harming really helpless people not just in Ukraine but all across the globe.

At an outdoor greeting ceremony, both presidents praised the long-standing ties between their nations. However, they admitted that challenging times lie ahead as the West’s solidarity begins to fray nine months into the conflict in Ukraine.

Republicans are about to assume control of the House in Washington, and GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has said that his party’s representatives won’t give Ukraine a “blank check.” Across the Atlantic, Macron’s attempts to keep Europe unified will be put to the test as Europe confronts increasing energy prices that threaten to stall the post-pandemic economic recovery as well as the escalating expenses of helping Ukraine in the conflict.

Macron emphasized that the problem has implications far beyond Ukraine’s national boundaries.

What is at risk in Ukraine is not simply far away, in a little nation in Europe, he proclaimed. “However, it concerns our ideals. And in regards to our values.

In the struggle for independence, “our two countries are sisters,” he said.

If Putin showed that he was really interested in stopping the invasion, Biden said he would be open to speaking with him. However, the American president, as usual, made any discussions contingent on backing from NATO partners.

If there is interest in Mr. Putin choosing to explore for a solution to stop the conflict, I’m willing to engage with him, Biden added. “He has not yet done that.”

The two leaders also addressed concerns that Macron and other leaders have over the newly passed clean energy bill, which White House sources claimed was also at the top of the agenda.

Macron has made it plain that he and other European leaders reject the Inflation Reduction Act’s incentives that favor American-produced climate technologies, such as electric automobiles.

To appease friends, Biden conceded that the law had “glitches,” but said that “there are modifications we can make.”

“The US doesn’t offer an apology. And because I wrote it for the legislation we’re discussing, I don’t apologize,” Biden said.

Although the Biden administration’s attempts to combat climate change should be commended, Macron said that the subsidies would be a significant setback for European businesses.

Macron said, “We want to triumph together, not one against the other. In order to prevent a “domino effect” that would damage renewable energy programs in Europe, Obama said that the United States and France will “resynchronize” their clean energy efforts.

On Capitol Hill, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, one of the bill’s primary architects, said, “Congress passed a law to rev up the American electric automobile industry, create good-paying American jobs, and tackle climate change at the same time. Despite Biden’s talk of potential changes to the law. I won’t be opening it up again.

The European Union has also voiced worry that the law’s tax benefits will penalize European manufacturers and violate WTO regulations.

After participating in a ceremonial ceremony with hundreds of people assembled on the South Lawn on a beautiful, cool morning, the leaders met for nearly three hours with their assistants. The visitors received miniature French and American flags from ushers, and there was a 21-gun salute and review of the soldiers.

In their public remarks, Biden and Macron both aimed to maintain the attention on the situation in Ukraine.

The state visit ought to provide Macron a diplomatic lift that he can use throughout Europe. Even if he still has a good connection with Biden, his bold remarks help him show that he is standing up for French workers. At a time when Europe is becoming more anxious that the Ukraine conflict and the ensuing energy and inflation problems would irreparably harm its economy, the incident also helps Macron enhance his reputation as the most prominent and outspoken head of the European Union.

Throughout order to do this, Biden complimented Macron for being “not simply the leader of France” and for being “extremely vociferous and very, very powerful in Europe.” Macron often referred to the American president as “dear Joe” in his public remarks.

Nevertheless, Macron’s appeals for a meeting between Ukraine and Russia at a negotiation table have sometimes infuriated American and Ukrainian authorities. Officials from the White House have openly argued that it is totally up to the leadership of Ukraine to determine whether it is proper to engage the Russians and have emphasized that if Putin stopped his assault, the conflict would cease quickly.

In a speech at a meeting earlier this month in Bangkok, Macron caused controversy by referring to the United States and China as “two giant elephants” that are about to “cause a tremendous issue for the rest of the jungle.” After demonstrations against Beijing’s “zero COVID” plan erupted in numerous places on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong, the United States and France are keeping a close watch on China. This is why he visited Washington at this time.

The state visit represented the revival of an Ulysses S. Grant-era White House custom of recognizing close foreign friends.

A vinyl record and CD of the original music from the 1966 movie “Un Homme et une Femme,” which the Bidens saw on their first date, were among the presents that Macron and his wife, Brigitte, brought to the U.S. for his American guests.

A mirror created in America and fashioned with scrap wood from the White House grounds was one of the presents that Biden and first wife Jill Biden gave the Macrons.

Before the evening state supper at the White House South Lawn, Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed Macron for a lunch meeting at the State Department. Major figures from industry, politics, entertainment, and fashion attended the event for hundreds.

Reporting from Paris, Corbet. This article was written by Associated Press reporters Frank Jordans in Berlin and Chris Megerian, Matthew Daly, and Zeke Miller.