Biden, Macron vow to work closely to help Ukraine, pressurise Russia

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron have emerged from White House talks pledging to close ranks in helping Ukraine and pressuring Russia's Vladimir Putin to make peace.

Biden said, "We reaffirm that France and the United States together, with all our NATO allies and the European Union and the G7, stand as strong as ever against Russia's brutal war."

Following lengthy Oval Office talks on Thursday, they also signalled they'd calmed the waters on a burgeoning US-EU trade dispute.

Addressing a joint press conference on the second day of Macron's rare state visit to Washington, both leaders emphasized their desire to forge a powerful transatlantic alliance supporting democracy - and facing down Russia and China.

The US leader also said that he would be ready to meet with Putin but only "if he is looking for a way to end the war."

It was Biden's strongest suggestion so far that he would be prepared to sit down with Putin, but Macron said they both agreed "we will never urge the Ukrainians to make a compromise that will not be acceptable for them."

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'Vive la France!'

The state visit - the first such formal occasion since Biden took office in January 2021 - symbolised how Washington and Paris have buried last year's bitter spat over the way Australia pulled out of a French submarine deal in favour of acquiring US nuclear subs instead.

At a lavish, late dinner under a glass pavilion on the White House South Lawn, Biden concluded his toast by saying, "Vive la France!" or "long live France."

The occasion seemed to be at threat of being overshadowed by a dispute over US subsidies for the emerging green technology economy. However, both leaders signalled they had managed at least to defuse the row following one hour and 45-minute talks in the Oval Office in the morning.

"We agreed to discuss practical steps to coordinate and align our approaches so that we can strengthen and secure the supply chains, manufacturing and innovation on both sides of the Atlantic," Biden told their joint news conference.

"We agreed to resynchronise our approaches," echoed Macron.

"Tweaks" for European companies

The issue revolves around Biden's signature policy, the Inflation Reduction Act or IRA, which is set to pour billions of dollars into environmentally friendly industries, with strong backing for US-based manufacturers.

Biden stressed that there would be "tweaks" so that European companies were not unfairly treated.

"We're going to continue to create manufacturing jobs in America but not at the expense of Europe," Biden said.

On China, another area where Europe and the United States have not always been entirely on the same page, the leaders said in a joint statement they "will continue to coordinate on our concerns regarding China's challenge to the rules-based international order, including respect for human rights, and to work together with China on important global issues like climate change."

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