"Aukus" pact: France recalls ambassadors, consultations

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (Ansa)

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September 17, 2021 France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia for consultations due to the "exceptional gravity" of the announcement of the strategic partnership between Washington, London and Canberra which led to Australia's cancellation of a major contract purchase of submarines with France. This was announced by the Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian.

"At the request of the President of the Republic, I have decided to immediately call our two ambassadors in the United States and Australia back to Paris for consultations. This exceptional decision is justified by the exceptional gravity of the announcements made on September 15 by Australia and the United States." , the minister said.

In the note, Minister Le Drian underlines that "the abandonment of the ocean-class submarine project that had linked Australia to France since 2016, and the announcement of a new partnership with the United States aimed at launching studies on a possible future cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines constitute unacceptable behavior between allies and partners, the consequences of which concern our very conception of our alliances, our partnerships and the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe ".

The White House expressed "regret" over the recall of the French ambassador, but said the United States will work to resolve the diplomatic dispute. "We are sorry that they have taken this step, we will continue to work in the coming days to resolve our differences, as we have done at other points during our long alliance," explained a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Australia understands France's "disappointment" at its decision to forgo the purchase of French submarines but looks forward to continuing to work with Paris. This was declared today by the Australian Foreign Minister, Marise Payne. "I fully understand the disappointment. It is clear that these are very difficult issues to manage," he said from Washington. "But we will continue to work constructively and in close cooperation with our French colleagues."