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dpa
Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden are set to speak over the phone in the coming days, French officials have said, following a sudden rift between France and the US, Britain and Australia over a failed submarine deal.
The two leaders are due to speak by phone on Biden’s request, the Elysee Palace said on Sunday. No date has yet been set for the call.
France has responded with outrage to the Wednesday announcement of the AUKUS alliance between Britain, the US and Australia, which will see Canberra acquire nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the next 18 months.
It also means a 56-billion-euro (66-billion-dollar) deal for Australia to buy French submarines will be scrapped.
France accused its allies of an unacceptable breach of trust and recalled its ambassadors to both the US and Australia over the scrapped deal.
Britain’s new Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, taking office in the midst of a major diplomatic spat following a Cabinet reshuffle, defended the alliance in the British Telegraph on Sunday newspaper.
“Freedoms need to be defended, so we are also building strong security ties around the world,” Truss wrote.
In addition to nuclear submarines, she said, the military use of artificial intelligence should also be expanded with Australia and the US.
However, France sees the new alliance not only as the reason behind it losing a multi-billion dollar contract, but also as a burden on NATO and a challenge to the EU.
“You also have to question the strength of the alliance with the United States,” France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France 2 TV channel on Saturday evening.
“In a real alliance, people talk to each other and respect each other, that wasn’t the case.” Le Drian spoke of lies and a breach of trust. “This is not acceptable at all, which means there is a crisis.” Experts expect that Australia will need 10 to 20 years to build the submarines as the country has no nuclear technology infrastructure or nuclear experts.
Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden are set to speak over the phone in the coming days, French officials have said, following a sudden rift between France and the US, Britain and Australia over a failed submarine deal.
The two leaders are due to speak by phone on Biden’s request, the Elysee Palace said on Sunday. No date has yet been set for the call.
France has responded with outrage to the Wednesday announcement of the AUKUS alliance between Britain, the US and Australia, which will see Canberra acquire nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the next 18 months.
It also means a 56-billion-euro (66-billion-dollar) deal for Australia to buy French submarines will be scrapped.
France accused its allies of an unacceptable breach of trust and recalled its ambassadors to both the US and Australia over the scrapped deal.
Britain’s new Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, taking office in the midst of a major diplomatic spat following a Cabinet reshuffle, defended the alliance in the British Telegraph on Sunday newspaper.
“Freedoms need to be defended, so we are also building strong security ties around the world,” Truss wrote.
In addition to nuclear submarines, she said, the military use of artificial intelligence should also be expanded with Australia and the US.
However, France sees the new alliance not only as the reason behind it losing a multi-billion dollar contract, but also as a burden on NATO and a challenge to the EU.
“You also have to question the strength of the alliance with the United States,” France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France 2 TV channel on Saturday evening.
“In a real alliance, people talk to each other and respect each other, that wasn’t the case.” Le Drian spoke of lies and a breach of trust. “This is not acceptable at all, which means there is a crisis.” Experts expect that Australia will need 10 to 20 years to build the submarines as the country has no nuclear technology infrastructure or nuclear experts.
