World enews: French ambassador returning to US after Biden and Macron call discussing Australian nuclear sub deal

Diplomatic relations between France and the United States are on the mend after presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron spoke for the first time since the trilateral AUKUS alliance was announced.

The deal between the US, the UK and Australia sunk France’s $60bn submarine contract, leading to the unprecedented recall of its ambassador from Washington.

In a joint statement following the call on Wednesday, Mr Macron said the ambassador will return in the next week after Mr Biden reaffirmed his “on-going commitment” to France and Europe.

The pair agreed to meet in person at the end of October, likely around the Group of 20 Summit in Europe, to reach a “shared understanding”.

“The two leaders agreed that the situation would have benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners,” the statement said.

“The two leaders have decided to open a process of in-depth consultations, aimed at creating the conditions for ensuring confidence and proposing concrete measures toward common objectives.”

This is a developing story to be updated.