Even before his warm welcome at the White House on Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande must have known that a key part of his mission had little chance of succeeding.
After the Paris attacks, Mr Hollande was seeking to forge a broader and more co-ordinated coalition to focus on the war on Islamic State in Syria.
With Turkey shooting down a Russian warplane, apparently inside its airspace, such a course of action has become even more complicated.
President Barack Obama received Mr Hollande with warmth, saying during a dual press conference after the meeting that Americans loved the French, even if they were normally too "shy" to say so. He noted that France had come to American aid during the revolution, and America to France's during the world wars.
"We owe our freedom to one another," he said as the two leaders faced the media in the White House's East Room.
But beyond reiterating that America stands in "total solidarity" with France in the fight against IS, he did not propose any significant changes to the US strategy against IS.
Instead he said – as he has before – that he would intensify the efforts already in place, including increased intelligence sharing and bombing.
Both leaders urged Russia and their ally, Turkey, a member of NATO, not to escalate the tension between them.
"It is important right now to make sure the Russians and Turks are talking to each other to figure out what happened" and "discourage any kind of escalation", Mr Obama said.
But he also noted that, "Turkey, like every country, has the right to defend its territory and its airspace."
Both Russia and Turkey are already engaged in air campaigns in Syria, though to different ends; and both would be vital to any effort at creating a more robust coalition against IS.
So far Russia's campaign has focused on fighting forces combating its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey has focused on Kurds, who oppose Mr Assad in Syria, but Turkish governance across the border.
Despite the competing interests, Russia has stepped up its bombing against IS targets since the group claimed responsibility for downing a Russian airliner in Egypt.
This had contributed to Mr Hollande's hopes he could forge the coalition he believes is needed to destroy the terrorist group, hence his intensive worldwide diplomatic push.
On Monday he met British Prime Minister David Cameron, before flying to Washington, DC, for his meeting with Mr Obama.
He is to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Paris on Sunday.
