They seal the peace after the oceanic nation canceled a multimillion-dollar contract after allying with the United States to use its military technology
French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese opened “a new chapter” in the relationship between their two countries this Friday, hoping to put the so-called submarine crisis behind them. The two leaders pledged “to build a closer and more solid bilateral relationship based on trust and mutual respect,” said a joint statement.
Relations between Paris and Canberra were badly damaged after the previous Australian government of Conservative Scott Morrison unilaterally broke “the contract of the century” to purchase French submarines.
When asked by a journalist if he expected an apology from Albanian for what happened, Macron simply said: “Let’s talk about the future, not the past. He is not responsible for what happened.”
Albanian, who was elected prime minister in May, stressed the importance of ties between the two countries. “Australia’s relationship with France is important. Trust, respect and honesty are important,” said the Labor politician, recalling that France “is not just a great European power, but a power in the Indo-Pacific and globally. ”
The previous Australian government canceled in September 2021 the contract to buy 12 conventionally powered submarines from France, worth $56,000 million.
Canberra canceled the millionaire contract after reaching an agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom to establish Aukus, a strategic military alliance to counter China’s advance into the Indo-Pacific region. This agreement gives him access to American technology for building nuclear submarines.
The termination of the contract caused a diplomatic crisis. Alarmed by the breach of contract without their notice, Paris recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia in protest, an unusual gesture among allies. The Elysée Palace believed that Washington torpedoed Australia’s commercial agreement for the purchase of French submarines.
Three weeks ago, the oceanic country announced that it will compensate the French company Naval Group 555 million euros for the unilateral breach of the contract to purchase French submarines.
Source: La Verdad
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