Biden calls U.S. 'clumsy' in submarine deal during meeting with Macron
Meeting with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Friday at the G20 summit in Rome, U.S. President Joe Biden Biden said the handling of the issue was "clumsy" and he was under the impression that France had already been informed that their deal with Australia was not going through.
- World
- Reuters
- Published Date: 07:50 | 29 October 2021
- Modified Date: 08:00 | 29 October 2021
President Joe Biden met French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday at the G20 summit in Rome, Italy and addressed Washington's rift with Paris over a U.S. security pact with Britain and Australia, saying what the United States did was "clumsy".
Biden used the opportunity to turn the page on a relationship that came under strain over the U.S.-Australia security alliance, known as AUKUS, which also includes the United Kingdom. The pact effectively canceled a 2016 Australian-France submarine deal.
Biden said the handling of the issue was "clumsy" and he was under the impression that France had already been informed that their deal with Australia was not going through.
He also said the United States does not have an older and more loyal ally than France and that there is no place in the world where the United States cannot cooperate with France.
Biden and Macron had spoken to each other following the rift and discussed security cooperation in Africa, Europe and the Indo-Pacific.