Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden will hold a conversation later on Wednesday to clarify details related to Australia’s decision to scrap the $66 billion submarine contract with French shipbuilders after formation of the AUKUS alliance, French cabinet spokesman Gabriel Attal said.
“A conversation between President Macron and Biden is scheduled for today,” Attal said at a briefing.
The leaders intend to discuss under what conditions Australia’s decision on the submarines was made, the cabinet spokesman added.
This comes after last week, Australia announced a new security partnership, AUKUS, with the US and the UK, and unilaterally quit its submarine deal with France worth $66 billion in favour of a plan to build submarines at home using American and British nuclear reactor technology.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called Australia’s decision a “stab in the back,” adding that trust between the countries had been undermined.
