Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met with French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian today at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington ahead of the latest counter-ISIL defense ministerial.
Secretary Carter offered his deepest condolences to the French people and government in the wake of last week's barbaric attack in Nice.
He went on to welcome France's recent announcement that it would intensify its support for the counter-ISIL campaign, including the deployment of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to support coalition air operations. The secretary emphasized that France's contributions would surely accelerate the retaking of Mosul and ISIL's lasting defeat.
Secretary Carter and Minister Le Drian exchanged views on a range of additional global security challenges, and the leaders said that they look forward to working together in the future to promote stability and prosperity in the transatlantic area and around the world.