U.S. President Joe Biden, known as the submarine affair, asked for a telephone interview with his French president, Emmanuel Macron. One of the following days will be called.
According to his spokesman, Macron will ask for clarification on what appears to be a “serious breach of trust.” On Friday, France recalled all its ambassadors from the United States and Australia after canceling a multi-billion dollar deal to buy French submarines under the new alliance AUKUS with the United States and the United Kingdom.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday responded to Paris’ allegations that his country played a double game against the French. “I think they are well aware that we had serious concerns that the capabilities of the (French) submarine were not in our strategic interest. We had made it clear to them that we would make decisions based on our national strategic interests,” he told a news conference in Sydney.
“I do not regret my decision to prioritize Australia’s national interest. I will never regret it,” Morrison said, adding that he was “indifferent” to the advice of the Australian intelligence and security services. Australian Defense Secretary Peter Dutton said the country was fair and transparent, and expressed concern to France about the submarine deal, which was initially more expensive than the budget and lagged behind.
French submarines are powered by conventional diesel and power sources. The equipment that the country can buy from the United States is powered by a nuclear reactor, which gives them more autonomy.
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