French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday, September 16, called Australia's decision to break the agreement with the French company Naval Group on the construction of submarines a stab in the back.
"This is really a stab in the back. We have established a trusting relationship with Australia. This trust has been undermined. And today I am angry about the termination of this contract," Le Drian said on the air of France Info radio station.
The minister stressed that he expects explanations from Australia, as well as the United States.
Earlier in the day, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the country is withdrawing from an agreement with France on the construction of submarines for $66 billion.
According to him, the implementation of nuclear submarine technology has pushed the state to abandon conventional Attack-class submarines. The prime minister said that "accelerating changes in the field of regional security make conventional submarines unsuitable" for Australia's operational needs in the coming decades.
Morrison noted that France will continue to be a partner of Australia. He also expressed hope that the states will be able to overcome the consequences of the "difficult and disappointing" decision.
On September 15, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom announced the creation of the AUKUS trilateral Security and Defense Partnership. Over the next year and a half, all three countries will work on transferring technology to Australia, which the US has traditionally shared only with the UK. We are talking, in particular, about nuclear submarines.
