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Immediate Release

Acting Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper’s meeting with French Minister of Defense Florence Parly

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Jonathan R. Hoffman provided the following readout:

Acting Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper met yesterday with French Minister of Defense Florence Parly on the margins of the NATO Defense Ministerial.

The leaders discussed recent events in Iran, where an unmanned U.S. drone operating in international airspace was shot down by Iranian forces. Secretary Esper reassured Madam Parly that the United States supports a path toward diplomacy. The two also discussed European defense initiatives and the imperative that interoperability remain a priority for both nations.