US, UK attempt to ease tensions with France over submarine deal ‘crisis’

LONDON – The US and UK are seeking to ease tensions with France after a deal with Australia that Paris has called a “stab in the back.”

US President Joe Biden on Sunday requested an appeal with French President Emmanuel Macron. A spokesperson for the French presidency said on Monday that the appeal would come in the coming days and that Macron wanted some “clarification”.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he was “very proud” of his country’s relations with France and that “our love for France is ineradicable”.

It comes after last week’s announcement that Australia was canceling a submarine deal with France and instead buying new technology from the United States, in cooperation with the United Kingdom.

The new deal will see Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines rather than conventional submarines – in what some experts describe as an attempt by the United States to strengthen its position against China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Beijing has strongly criticized the deal between the US, UK and Australia, known as AUKUS, calling it “extremely irresponsible”.

France did not hesitate following the announcement of the agreement and went so far as to recall its ambassadors from the United States and Australia.

“There was a lie, there was duplicity, there was a major breach of trust, there was a contempt. So it’s not okay between us, it’s not okay at all. It means that ‘there is a crisis,’ Jean Yves Le Drian, the French Foreign Minister, told Info France 2 on Saturday.

“We have called back our ambassadors to try to understand and show these former partner countries our deep discontent. But also, once here, we will have the opportunity to reassess our position in order to best defend our interests both in Australia and in the United States. United States, ”added the Minister.

Le Drian also said that as of today, there is no date to fire the two ambassadors. France has also canceled a meeting scheduled this week between Paris and London.

A spokesperson for the French presidency said on Monday that the original contract between Paris and Canberra included “compensation” but did not disclose any value. When Australia signed the deal with France in 2016, the cost of the submarines was $ 40 billion, according to Reuters.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, announced on Monday that the 27 foreign ministers will discuss what Australia’s change of mind will mean for the ongoing trade talks between the bloc and Canberra.

“By aggravating the conflict, Macron hopes to bring a large part of French national opinion to his side; Macron also hopes to force other EU countries to understand that they must now take sides, and not perpetually equivocate the strategy defense and industrial European Union, ”he added. Mujtaba Rahman, director of consultancy firm Eurasia, said in a note on Saturday.

These topics are particularly important to Macron as France prepares for a presidential election in April. The country is also expected to lead talks at EU level when it takes the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in January.

“I think Europe is emerging from diplomatic innocence,” said France’s foreign affairs chief Le Drian.

In fact, Josep Borrell, who heads the EU portfolio, had said following the announcement: “We have to survive on our own, as others do.”

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended his decision and denied that France has been lied to.

“Ultimately it was a decision as to whether the submarines being built, at great cost to the Australian taxpayer, were going to be able to do the work we needed when they came into operation. service and our strategic judgment based on the best intelligence and defense advice possible was that it wouldn’t, ”Morrison said Sunday, according to the BBC.