Department of Defense Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Anton T. Semelroth provided the following readout:
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl spoke with his counterpart Alice Guitton, Director General for International Relations and Strategy, of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces. The two spoke by video teleconference about charting the U.S.-France bilateral relationship along the course that Presidents Biden and Macron set in their Joint Communique following their October 30 meeting in Rome.
The two Policy Directors shared concerns about regional challenges on NATO’s periphery, namely Russia’s increasingly aggressive posture toward Ukraine. They also discussed the importance of the NATO Alliance and committed to increasing NATO-EU cooperation, as well as bilateral cooperation on Indo-Pacific security and in the Sahel. The leaders agreed to continue consultations on national strategies and policies.