AUKUS: France’s relations with the US and Australia are in serious crisis

THE France considers that it is in “crisis” with the USA and Australia, Canberra canceled the multi-billion euro contract for the supply of French submarines, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in an interview with France 2 television tonight.

The French diplomat spoke of a “serious crisis” caused by the torpedoing of the agreement, denouncing “lies (…) double-mindedness (…) a serious breach of trust” and “contempt” on the part of France ‘s allies.

The minister also said that “what happened” would affect the definition of NATO’s new strategic vision, without going so far as to talk about France’s withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

When asked about the recall of the French ambassadors from Washington and Canberra, Le Drian justified the decision by saying that “there is a serious crisis between us.” “The fact that, for the first time in the history of US relations with France, we are recalling our ambassador for consultations is a serious political act that shows the intensity of the current crisis between our two countries and also with Australia,” he said. . The recall of the ambassador from London was deemed pointless: “We know the permanent opportunism” of the British, the French minister mocked, describing the United Kingdom as a “reserve” of the tripartite initiative.

On Friday, France recalled its ambassadors from the United States and Australia, on the occasion of the tripartite defense cooperation agreement (AUKUS) that includes the two countries and Britain.

Le Drian stressed that French President Emanuel Macron has not discussed the issue of submarines with his American counterpart, Joe Biden.

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