In the heated dispute over a failed submarine sale to Australia, US President Joe Biden wants to talk to French President Emmanuel Macron. A telephone call was already planned for the next few days, Biden had asked for the exchange, it was said yesterday from the Elyseepalast in Paris. However, the date and time have not yet been determined. After days of serious allegations by the French, the aim is to defuse the conflict.
France sees the failure of its billion dollar submarine sales contract to Australia not only as a business setback, but also “as a burden on NATO and a challenge for the EU”. As part of a three-way pact with the USA and Great Britain (AUKUS), Australia had agreed to build nuclear-powered submarines and canceled a 56 billion euro contract from 2016. At the request of President Macron, France therefore called its ambassadors from the USA and Australia home for deliberations.
“There were lies, there was duplicity, there was a serious breach of trust,” said Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Saturday. “In a real alliance you talk to each other and respect each other. That was not the case.” This also puts a strain on NATO’s new strategic concept, which should be discussed at the next summit in Madrid in 2022. With the exception of Australia, all parties involved belong to the western alliance.
“Harmful Direction”
One must question the strength of the alliance with the USA, said Le Drian. Europe must protect its interests after the fall of Kabul and the submarine dispute. “If the Europeans don’t realize that they have to get together and defend their interests together if they want to remain part of history, then their fate will be completely different.”
Great Britain defended the new Triple Alliance. “Freedoms have to be defended, so we are building strong security relationships around the world,” said new Foreign Minister Liz Truss.
