Biden seeks to hold phone call with Macron over submarine deal tension
September 21, 2021, 3:29 am

Biden seeks to hold phone call with Macron over submarine deal tension

US presiden-biden--

The Xinhua reported, U.S. officials said on Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking to hold a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in an effort to reduce tensions caused by a controversial submarine deal.

The Xinhua said, a diplomatic rift emerged between Washington and Paris over the announcement that the United States and Britain will support Australia to develop nuclear-powered submarines, depriving France of a contract to provide conventional submarines to Australia.

Outraged by the abrupt move without notice, France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia for consultations on Friday.

"President Biden has asked to be able to speak with President Macron to talk about the way forward, to talk about his deep commitment to the U.S. alliance with France," a senior Biden administration official told reporters in a call briefing on Monday.

The official: "We understand the French position, we don't share their view in terms of how this all developed."

He added: "We think that will be an important moment and opportunity for the two leaders to speak directly with one another."

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in a briefing later Monday that the call would take place "in the coming days," while noting officials are still working on scheduling it.

Under the new security partnership unveiled on Wednesday between Australia, Britain, and the United States, known as AUKUS, Australia will build nuclear-powered submarines with U.S. and British technology.

On Thursday, Australia announced it would scrap the deal with France signed in 2016 to purchase 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines.

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday called the trilateral move a "stab in the back." "We had established a relationship of trust with Australia. This trust has been betrayed," he said.

He added: "The American behavior worries me; this unilateral and brutal decision is very similar to what Mr. (Donald) Trump was doing."

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.