French President Emmanuel Macron said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had lied to him about canceling a submarine construction contract in September, and indicated that more needed to be done to rebuild trust between the two allies.
Macron and Morrison were in Rome last week for the G20 summit. It was the first time they had met since Australia canceled the multibillion-dollar submarine deal with France as part of a new security alliance with the United States and Britain announced in September.
The new security alliance, dubbed the “Aukus” and which could give Australia access to nuclear submarines, caught Paris off guard and saw French ambassadors called back from Washington and Canberra amid news that France had been betrayed.
“I have a lot of respect for your country. I have a lot of respect and friendship for your people,” Macron told a group of Australian reporters who traveled to cover the G20. “I just say that when we have respect, you have to be truthful and you have to behave consistently with that value.”
Asked if he thought Morrison had lied to him, Macron replied, “I don’t think so, I know.”
Morrison, who spoke at a press conference this Sunday (31) in Rome, said he had not lied and had already explained to Macron that conventional submarines would no longer meet Australia’s needs.
The prime minister also stated that the process of restoring the relationship had begun.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden said he understood that France had been informed of the contract’s cancellation before the Aukus pact was announced, and said the handling of the new security agreement was clumsy.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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