PARIS, Sept 22: French President Emmanuel Macron expected "concrete measures" from the United States to restore trust when he holds a call with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, said Macron's office.
Last week, France recalled its ambassadors from the United States and Australia, after the United States and Britain signed a nuclear submarine deal with Australia, causing Australia to scrap a previous $40 billion French-designed submarine deal.
Macron's office added that the French president expected Biden to recognize, during their call, that consultations with allies should have been held before the decision was made over the submarines, and that the United States had to recognize the need for European sovereignty.
France's decision to remove its ambassador from Washington was the first time Paris had acted in such a way. The rare decision taken by French President Emmanuel Macron was made due to the "exceptional gravity" of the matter, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said last Friday.
On Tuesday, Germany joined France in berating the United States for negotiating the security pact in secret with Australia and Britain, while the EU's top official said such behavior was unacceptable.
Macron was left furious by Australia's decision, announced on September 15, to ditch a 2016 deal to buy diesel submarines from France in favour of nuclear-powered ones from the United States and Britain.
Paris was outraged that Australia negotiated with Washington and London in secret behind its back, which French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has denounced as "treachery" and a "stab in the back".
The call would be an opportunity to "clarify both the way in which this announcement was made and the way for an American re-engagement in its relationship with an ally," spokesman Gabriel Attal said after a cabinet meeting.
French officials were notified about the loss of the contract just hours before Biden unveiled the new so-called AUKUS security and defence partnership between the three English-speaking countries.
Macron is expecting "clarifications about the American decision to keep a European ally outside of fundamental talks about cooperation in the Indo-Pacific," Attal added, making clear that French anger remains unabated. -AFP
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