Le Drian: Crisis in Paris-Washington Relations Is Serious
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No end in sight to the nuclear submarine crisis between France and The UK, US, and Australia. Resolving the issue would need solid actions and "not only words", said Le Drian.
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French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (AFP)
At a meeting of the French Senate Commission on International Affairs, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said: "At this stage, I can say that the crisis that we are now experiencing is serious. It has not ended only because the dialogue has resumed. It will continue, and in order to get out of it, serious actions will be needed, not words."
Sous-marins : "La crise que nous connaissons est grave, elle n’est pas achevée simplement parce que le dialogue est renoué. Elle va durer, en sortir requerra des actes forts plutôt que des paroles", avertit @JY_LeDrian. pic.twitter.com/Ay8vmzQKgF
— Public Sénat (@publicsenat) September 29, 2021
Le Drian said that Paris also needs to rethink its relations with London, as the latter has violated its obligations "including under the agreement on and cooperation."
The French Foreign Minister added that the crisis that Paris and Washington's relations are facing should not call into question NATO's main mission of collective defense. He added that Europe's defense must be strengthened, noting that their sovereignty is at stake.
Sous-marins : "Il est urgent de renforcer l’Europe de la défense que nous construisons pas à pas depuis plusieurs années, il y va de notre sécurité et de notre souveraineté", estime @JY_LeDrian mais "il ne s’agit pas de sortir de l’OTAN" pic.twitter.com/deNvNR4R71
— Public Sénat (@publicsenat) September 29, 2021
A thorough review of cooperation with Australia after it decided to withdraw from the agreement on submarines was mentioned by Le Drian, He added that "at no time before September 15th have the Australians openly expressed to us their wish to abandon the Attack-class submarine program."
. @JY_LeDrian : "Je le dis de manière catégorique, à aucun moment avant le 15 septembre les Australiens ne nous ont ouvertement exprimé leur souhait d’abandonner le programme de sous-marins de classe Attack" pic.twitter.com/CwGer1a3um
— Public Sénat (@publicsenat) September 29, 2021
The minister stressed that the French ambassador will return to Canberra, but the consultations with him will continue.
AUKUS Alliance
Washington, London, and Canberra announced the creation of a new trilateral pact named AUKUS that will permit Canberra to construct a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines using American and British technologies.
As a result of this, France lost its $66-billion deal on conventionally-powered subs with Australia. and relations between the countries as well as with the US and the UK continued to worsen ever since.
