France invites ambassadors from the United States and Australia

The new cooperation between the superpowers under the name of Agus means that the agreement that France plans to sign with Australia will not come into force. Earlier this week, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the turning point as “stabbing in the back”.

“We have established a trusting relationship with Australia and this trust has been betrayed,” he told French Information Radio.

The foreign minister said the decision to recall the ambassadors was taken by French President Emmanuel Macron. It is not uncommon for ambassadors from friendly countries to be invited home, and this has been described as one of the sharpest signs a government can make.

Australia defends the agreement

France considers the submarine agreement to violate the “spirit of cooperation” between France and Australia and to build twelve submarines made in France according to plans. In June, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was “fully” behind the plan. The deal was worth about SEK 315 billion when it was announced in 2016.

However, Peter Dutton, Australia’s Secretary of Defense, defended the decision to sign an agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom instead.

In the end, we chose based on what was best for our country from a security perspective. “We looked at different options and could not see that French submarines were superior to the United States and Britain,” he said on Thursday.

A White House spokesman told Reuters that the United States regretted France’s decision and would work to resolve tensions between the two countries.

“Strong choice”

SVT’s European correspondent Christopher Wendy says of France:

– This is a strong sign that a country can achieve. It now shows a bubbling feeling in Paris. Feel like your partner has joined your best friend.

Ask SVT’s reporter about the new security alliance in the video player.