Pats on back, all smiles as Macron, Johnson appear to bury hatchet for G7

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hold a bilateral meeting during a G7 leaders summit at Bavaria's Schloss Elmau castle, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany June 26, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool

SCHLOSS ELMAU, Germany (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared to bury the hatchet on Sunday on the sidelines of the G7 summit a year after the two clashed over Brexit and in particular Northern Ireland.

Despite the issue remaining in the public, French officials said the Northern Ireland protocol had not been part of bilateral talks on Sunday and that on the contrary the two sides had decided to improve their relationship, focusing in their joint efforts to help Ukraine in its war against Russia.