President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday ordered the French ambassador to return to Washington next week after a phone call with US counterpart Joe Biden aimed at calming tensions in a row over a ditched submarine contract for Australia, a joint statement said.

The pair also vowed to launch a process of “in-depth consultations” to restore confidence and to meet in Europe at the end of October, the statement said, adding Biden also agreed on the need for stronger European defense to complement NATO.

It added: “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.”