France recalls ambassadors to United States and Australia amid submarine deal outrage

 France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia for "consultations" on Friday in a backlash over a submarine deal, the French Foreign Minister said in a statement.

"At the request of the President of the Republic, I decided to immediately recall to Paris our two ambassadors in the United States and in Australia for consultations," said Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

The move comes after Canberra announced earlier this week that it was scrapping a multi-billion purchase of French conventional submarines in favor of nuclear subs built with US technology.

"This exceptional decision is justified by the exceptional seriousness of the announcements made on September 15 by Australia and the United States," Le Drian went on.

The security pact known as "AUKUS" was announced on Wednesday by Washington, Canberra and London.

Although none of the three governments made any mention of China, the new partnership is widely understood to be an attempt to counter Beijing's assertiveness in the region.

It plans for deeper diplomatic, security, and defense cooperation between the three capitals with enhanced capabilities and interoperability in cyber, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden said in a statement that their partnership is "guided by our enduring ideals and shared commitment to the international rules-based order."

On Thursday, Le Drian blasted the move by the three anglophone countries as "a stab in the back," adding: "This unilateral, brutal, unpredictable decision is very similar to what Mr Trump used to do."

 

Source: Euro News