French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he had recalled Philippe tienne from Washington and Jean-Pierre Thébault from Canberra for consultations on instructions from French President Emmanuel Macron, which this week expressed the “extraordinary seriousness” of the tripartite declaration. It was a fair” decision. Agreement between three English speaking partners.
Mr Le Drian said the agreement announced on Wednesday constituted “unacceptable behavior between allies and partners”. As part of the deal with the UK and US, Australia said it would cancel a multi-billion dollar contract to buy submarines from France.
The French government will set the date for the ambassadors’ return to their posts. An embassy official said there was no known precedent for recalling an envoy from Washington or Canberra.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Maris Payne said Australia regrets the recall of its ambassador by France and understands its deep disappointment at the decision to cancel the submarine contract, which was taken on national security grounds.
“Australia values its relationship with France, which is an important partner and an important contributor to stability, especially in the Indo-Pacific,” the spokesman said. “It won’t change.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday that US officials are in contact with their French counterparts and intend to continue high-level discussions on the issue at the UN General Assembly next week.
US officials have said the French government was prematurely advised of a tripartite deal, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday repeatedly described France as an important partner in diplomatic and military theaters around the world.
“We place a fundamental value on that relationship, on their partnership, and we will take that forward in the days to come,” said Mr. Blinken.
But a French official said on Friday the government only became aware of the agreement in the press on Wednesday and that “we had no prior consultation” with the US or Australians. Mr Le Drian said on Thursday that the agreement was a “stab in the back”. “
Adding to the sense of betrayal with France is the fact that Washington has asked its ally over the past decade to join the US in its effort to have a stronger presence in the Pacific.
The extraordinary diplomatic rift is another sad place for Mr Blinken after the chaos of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The State Department has been criticized for being slow to process visa applications for Afghans working for the US military and government; The State Department has acknowledged that most applicants were left behind.
The French ambassador has traditionally been a major diplomatic presence in the official Washington, living in a lavish mansion in the same Kalorama neighborhood that houses Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, former President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama and Ivanka Trump. is daughter. Former President Donald Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
The embassy’s Bastille Day celebrations are extensive, and officials had planned a party on Friday to commemorate the American Revolutionary Naval War involving French ships. The embassy canceled the party on Thursday.
A White House official said the US was in contact with the French government on a decision to recall Etienne for consultations.
“While we regret that they have taken this step, we will continue to resolve our differences in the days to come, as we have done at other points during our long alliance,” the official said. “France is our oldest ally and one of our strongest partners, and we share a long history, democratic values and a commitment to working together to address global challenges.”
The move marked the first time that France had recalled its ambassador to the US in their nearly two and a half centuries of diplomatic relations.
The diplomatic crisis sparked tensions caused by the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, when France protested US action, and the cafeteria in Congress changed the name of French fries to “Freedom Fries”.
French officials remain puzzled as to why Australia decided to break the contract, dubbed the “contract of the century” by French media. Countering China’s growing assertiveness in the Pacific but French officials said Australians never asked them to consider supplying nuclear-powered submarines, which are part of the French arsenal.
Such disputes are rare between the US and its former allies.
In 2019, the UK’s ambassador to the US, Kim Darroch, resigned following the publication of secret cables in which she criticized the administration of then-President Donald Trump as inaction. Mr Trump lashed out at Mr Darroch, a veteran British diplomat, calling him “very stupid” and “wacky” and said he would no longer work with him.
But long-time rival Russia recalled its ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, for consultations in March, while the Kremlin determined next steps in relations with the US under the Biden administration.
The action comes a day after a US intelligence report ordered a broad-influence campaign for the first time directly on Russian President Vladimir Putin for interfering in the 2020 US election, aimed at hurting Mr Biden’s campaign. Mr. Antonov returned to Washington in June.
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