U.S. President Donald Trump arrived Thursday in Paris for counterterrorism talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and to mark the French national holiday, Bastille Day, along with the 100th anniversary of U.S. troops entering World War 1.
A year ago Trump described Paris as "so, so, so out of control, so dangerous," because of terrorists operating there. More recently he suggested that Islamic State attacks in Paris had diminished its standing as a world-class destination.
As he pulled the United States out of the 2017 international Paris accord to control greenhouse gas emissions, Trump said he was elected to represent "Pittsburgh, not Paris." Nevertheless, he subsequently accepted Macron's invitation to attend the country's annual mid-July celebrations.
In addition to meeting with Macron on Thursday, Trump will also lunch with U.S. military officials and tour the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte.
"We will talk about all the issues which are of interest to us both, including those about which we have disagreements when we have them, but also a lot of the issues on which we are working together -- the terrorism threat, the crises in Syria and Libya, and a lot of issues which are of interest to us both," Macron said ahead of Trump's visit.
A senior U.S. official told reporters the White House expects the civil war in Syria and U.S.-French cooperation both there and on other counterterror issues to take up most of the discussion, while there could also be some follow-up to last week's G-20 summit in Germany.
France is part of the U.S.-led coalition that has been carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq since late 2017. A large majority of those strikes this year have taken place in Syria, where the militants have their de facto capital in the city of Raqqa.
Trump and Macron are both in their first year in office and have shown policy differences when it comes to international efforts to combat climate change. But they also share certain goals, such as reducing the number of workers in their respective governments.
A senior Trump administration official described the relationship between the presidents as "very positive."
On Friday, Trump and his wife, Melania, will attend the annual Bastille Day parade, which will include both French and U.S. military personnel.
"The fact that we participated in such a major way in World War I, side by side with the French, is a clear parallel to what we're doing today," the senior administration official said. "We still live in a dangerous world. We still live in a world that has many, many threats."
美国总统川普星期四抵达巴黎，与法国总统马卡龙举行反恐会谈，庆祝法国国庆日和美国参加一战100周年纪念。
一年前，川普曾因恐怖分子在巴黎的活动，形容巴黎“实在是太失控，太危险”。他不久前还曾表示，伊斯兰国对巴黎的袭击，削弱了巴黎作为世界级游览城市的地位。
川普宣布美国退出控制温室气体排放的2017年巴黎气候协定时曾表示，他当选要代表的是“匹兹堡，不是巴黎”。尽管如此，他还是接受了法国总统马卡龙的邀请，前来参加法国国庆的庆祝活动。
星期四除了会见马卡龙外，川普还将与美军将领共进午餐，并参观拿破仑墓。
马克龙在川普来访前曾表示：“我们将讨论双方感兴趣的所有问题，其中包括我们有歧见的问题，但是也包括我们共同致力的许多问题，例如恐怖威胁、叙利亚和利比亚危机，以及双方感兴趣的诸多问题。”
一位美国高级官员对记者表示，白宫预计叙利亚形势以及美法在叙利亚以及其他反恐问题上的合作，将成为磋商的主要内容，不过也有可能继续讨论上星期德国举行的20国集团峰会。
法国参加了美国为首的联军，并在2017年以来一直执行针对叙利亚和伊拉克境内伊斯兰国目标的空袭。今年的大部分空袭行动都在叙利亚，极端分子事实上的首都位于境内的拉卡城。
川普和马克龙均处于就任后的第一年，在战胜气候变化国际合作问题上表现出政策上的差异。不过两人也有某些共同目标，例如减少各自政府的雇员人数。
这位美国高级政府官员说，两位总统的关系“非常正面”。
星期五川普和夫人梅拉尼娅将出席一年一度的法国国庆日游行，这次游行将有法国和美国的军队成员参加。
这位美国高级政府官员还说：“我们同法国肩并肩，高调参加一战，同如今的共同行动如出一辙。我们依然生活在一个危险的世界，依然生活在有很多很多威胁的世界“。