FRANCE: NSA Sullivan Holds Talks w/ French Foreign Min, Discuss China, NATO

Readout from the White House NSC spox states that "National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met today with Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian of France and reaffirmed the strong bilateral ties between our countries."

• "They welcomed the outcomes of the U.S.-EU Summit and NATO Summit in June and pledged to work together to ensure the Alliance's adaptation to diverse security threats. They exchanged views on a range of shared foreign policy interests, including China, Russia, Iran, and Lebanon. They also discussed rising instability in the Sahel and their commitment to sustained counterterrorism cooperation."
• The US and French gov'ts have not seen eye-to-eye on the role of NATO for some time, with French President Emmanuel Macron previously calling the organisation 'brain dead'. However, this rhetoric has been tempered significantly since President Biden came to office.
• The US and France are the two most significant military contributors to actions in the Sahel, where Islamist militants from Boko Haram, Islamic State, and Al Qaeda continue to operate with broad freedoms. Significant destabilisation of the region could spark mass population movements that could see significant increases in migrant flows to Europe.