LONDON: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday that the US and France agreed that their common goal was to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, Al Arabiya reported.
Macron made the comment after he hosted his US counterpart Donald Trump for a previously unscheduled lunch on Saturday ahead of the official opening of the G7 summit in southwest France.
The two leaders met at the ornate Hotel du Palais in the Atlantic resort of Biarritz, the G7 venue, just a day after Trump reiterated his threat of tariffs against French wine over a new French tax on the largest US tech companies.
Later, a French presidency official said that Macron and Trump have found "points of convergence" on subjects including trade, Iran's nuclear programme and the wildfires consuming large parts of the Amazon.
Trump said on Saturday he expected the G7 summit in France this weekend to accomplish a lot, adding he had a special relationship with Macron even if they had their differences.
"We actually have a lot in common, Emmanuel and I. We have been friends for a long time. Every once in a while we go at it a little bit, not very much. We get along very well, we have a very good relationship. I think I can say a special relationship," he said.
The meeting of the Group of Seven nations: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US is taking place in the beach resort town of Biarritz.
