French Foreign Minister: Crisis in Paris-Washington Relations Serious, It Has Not Ended

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20210929

PARIS (Sputnik) - The crisis in relations between Paris and Washington is serious, it did not end after the dialogue between the two countries was resumed, 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," Le Drian at a meeting of the French Senate Commission on International Affairs.

Paris also needs to reconsider its relations with London, as it has violated its obligations, Le Drian said.

The crisis in relations between Paris and Washington should not call into question NATO's main mission of collective defence, Le Drian said.

He recalled that France had initiated a revision of NATO's strategic concept for the Madrid summit.

Le Drian also called for a thorough review of cooperation with Australia after its decision to withdraw from the agreement on submarines.

"In Australia, this erosion of confidence calls for a thorough review of our cooperation," Le Drian said at a meeting of the French Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee.

He noted that consultations with the French ambassador recalled from Canberra were continuing.

"Our ambassador to Australia will return [to Canberra], but for now we continue consultations with him, which will allow us to clarify the development of our relations," the minister stressed.

On 15 September, the US, the UK and Australia announced the creation of a new trilateral pact dubbed AUKUS that will enable Canberra to build 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.

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