President Donald Trump held the door open to a reversal of his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate accord on Thursday but did not say what he would need in return to persuade him to do so.

Trump’s relationship with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron got off to a bumpy start, but both leaders have an incentive to improve relations.

Macron hopes to elevate France’s role in global affairs, and Trump, seemingly isolated among world leaders, needs a friend overseas.

The U.S. President came to France beset by allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Election, with emails released on Tuesday suggesting his eldest son welcomed an offer of Russian help against his father’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Macron views it as counter-productive to isolate the United States on the world stage, adding that he and Trump had asked diplomats to draw up in the coming weeks, a concrete initiative aimed at preparing the future of Syria.

Trump will be the guest of honour at France’s July 14 celebrations, a year after a Tunisian man loyal to Islamic State ploughed a truck through revellers on a seafront promenade in Nice, killing more than 80.

Reuters