French Ambassador to United States returns to Washington after tension over sale of submarines to Australia



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The French Embassy in Washington (REUTERS / Gershon Peaks)
The French Embassy in Washington (REUTERS / Gershon Peaks)

The French Ambassador to Washington, Philippe Etienne, will return to the North American country on Wednesday, after his call for consultations amid tensions over the creation of the military alliance announced by Australia, the United Kingdom and United States, as the French President announced on Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron.

The French president, who indicated that the crisis due to the cancellation of the agreement for the sale of submarines to Australia after the creation of the AUKUS alliance “does not change the strategy” of Paris in the Indo-Pacific region., stressed that the Ambassador will visit Washington “With a clear mandate” to “establish the conditions for resuming relations”.

He also pointed out that the strategy in this region “was announced in early 2018 in India” and added that Paris “has many partners in the region”. “France is a power in the Indo-Pacific, independent of any contract”, he said, according to the French television channel BFM TV.

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the Richelieu headquarters of the National Library of France, following the completion of the renovation project and the 300th anniversary of the installation of the royal collections, in Paris, France, September 28, 2021. Bertrand Guay / Swimming pool via REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the Richelieu headquarters of the National Library of France, following the completion of the renovation project and the 300th anniversary of the installation of the royal collections, in Paris, France, September 28, 2021. Bertrand Guay / Swimming pool via REUTERS

Macron further acknowledged that The United States “is a great historic ally” and has declared that “it will be so”, although he specified that France “has been forced to verify that for a little over ten years, The United States is very egocentric and has strategic interests shifted towards China and the Pacific.”.

“It’s their right, it’s their own sovereignty. We would be innocent and would make a terrible mistake if we did not draw the conclusions and verify this fact for ourselves, ”he said. “It is with the same pragmatism and the same lucidity towards our independence that we, as Europeans, must take charge of our own protection”, he stressed.

The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, moved its American counterpart last week, Antoine Blink, regardless of the approach in which the presidents of their respective countries have embarked, overcoming the open political crisis “will take time and will require action”.

(With information from Europa Press)

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Joe Biden speaks with Emmanuel Macron and the French ambassador will return to Washington after the tension over the sale of submarines to Australia



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