US President Barack Obama has talked to his French counterpart François Hollande prior to his State of the Union speech.

Obama, criticized for his absence at a unity march following recent terror attacks in France, paused during his SOTU preparations on Tuesday to talk the matter over with Hollande.

The US president reportedly voiced support for the French government in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks against the Charlie Hebdo magazine and another at a supermarket.

The French president, for his part, “expressed gratitude” for a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry to Paris.

The recent wave of terrorist attacks in France began on January 7 when the office of Charlie Hebdo came under assault by two gunmen. Some 12 people were killed in the incident that left France in huge shock and fear.

Two days later, two brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi, suspected of murdering the journalists, were killed after being cornered at a printing workshop in the town of Dammartin-en-Goele.

The deadly terror attacks drew widespread condemnations from Muslims in France and the entire world.

The al-Qaeda branch in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack on Charlie Hebdo. The group said it chose and supported Said and Cherif Kouachi to carry out the attack.

The French magazine has repeatedly provoked Muslim anger by publishing cartoons of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him).

NT/NT