Biden and Macron to talk due to diplomatic crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron will speak with US President Joe Biden in the coming days, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal announced.

The conversation will take place due to the diplomatic crisis in relations between the two countries caused by the AUKUS agreement.

France will seek „clarification“ as Australia cancelled a $40 billion submarine order in favor of a trilateral security pact with the United States and Britain (AUKUS), Attal told the BFM TV news channel.

France, by the way, recalled its ambassadors from the US and Australia due to the unacceptable behavior of these countries in reaching a nuclear submarine agreement that canceled France's submarine construction contract.

The US has expressed regret over France's decision to recall its ambassador from Washington and announced that it will continue to engage in the coming days to resolve the differences between the two countries.

Australia is defending its new nuclear submarine deal with the US and the UK, which led it to scrap a $40 billion contract with France. The new three-nation pact has triggered a diplomatic crisis.

Paris described the contract cancellation as a „stab in the back,“ and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that France's relations with the US and Australia were „in crisis.“.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he understood France's disappointment at losing a multi-billion-dollar submarine procurement contract following the formation of the AUKUS alliance, but stressed that Australia was merely protecting its own interests.

SOURCE: Courier I PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA