Peter Ricketts, co-chair of the Franco-British Council, said the meeting had been “postponed to a later date”, the BBC and the Guardian reported on Monday. Parley was to travel to London as part of the organization’s meeting, and high-ranking military officials were also to take part in the deliberations of the two largest military powers in Western Europe.
As part of a tripartite agreement with the United States and Great Britain, Australia agreed to build nuclear-powered submarines and canceled a €56 billion contract with France starting in 2016.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to pacify France. On his trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he said that London and Paris had a “very friendly relationship” of “extreme importance”. Our love for France is indelible. The deal should not exclude anyone.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed, Sunday, that he does not regret canceling the deal with Paris. “It is understood that in this case the other party to this contract was disappointed. I understand that,” he said. However, Australian interests prevailed. Morrison said he had “deep and serious concerns” that the French submarines were not enough “to protect our sovereign interests”.
Outraged by the tripartite agreement and the failure of its billion-dollar deal, France invited its ambassadors from the United States and Australia home for consultations. Paris has also made clear that it sees Washington’s and London’s actions as a burden on NATO and a challenge to the European Union.
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