Source: CCTV news client
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Oct. 31 that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had "lied" about abandoning the French submarine.
Macron and Morrison both attended the G20 Leaders' Summit in Rome, Italy, where they met during the meeting. This was the first time the two had met since the submarine storm, and the verbal altercation that had lasted for weeks continued.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia announced on September 15 a new trilateral security partnership in which the United States and the United Kingdom will support the Australian Navy in establishing a nuclear submarine force. Australia subsequently announced the suspension of a multibillion-dollar conventional submarine purchase agreement with France.
France angrily denounced the three allies for "stabbing in the back" and "lying" and recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Australia for the first time in history.
On October 28, in his first phone call with Morrison in the wake of the submarine storm, Macron said the trust relationship between the two countries had broken down.
Morrison had a brief exchange with Macron during the Rome summit. Morrison's office uploaded photos of the two shaking hands on social media. Morrison told reporters that he took the initiative to go up to greet Macron and say hello, hoping to have more conversations in the future.
After the two met at the summit, an Australian reporter asked Macron if he felt Morrison had lied. Macron replied affirmatively: "I don't feel, but I know." ”
Macron said he respected Australia, "but I would say that when we have respect, you have to be sincere, match your words with your deeds, and consistently implement that principle."
Morrison denied deceiving the French side later that day: "I don't agree with that statement. This is not true. ”
Morrison reiterated his previous claim that when he met with Macron in June, he had indicated australia's intention to abandon the submarine program between the two countries. "We had dinner together. As I have said on many occasions, I have made it clear that conventional submarines no longer meet Australia's needs... It was an important contract, so I wasn't surprised at how disappointed the French side was. ”
He also said that the Australian side has begun to repair the relations between the two countries.
The French side has always denied that the Australian side communicated to the French side in advance, saying that it only learned that the Australian side broke the treaty after the United States, Britain and Australia announced an agreement.
Australian Foreign Minister Maris Payne is scheduled to discuss the incident with the French ambassador, who has returned to work, in Sydney on November 1.
Compared with his attitude toward Morrison, Macron was much more moderate of US President Joseph Biden, who also suspected of "turning his back on allies".
Macron and Biden met for the first time since the submarine storm in Rome on Oct. 29. Biden told Macron that he thought the French side knew "very early" that the Franco-Australian submarine agreement would be suspended, and that the US "cutting off" was "not very decent." Macron said he believed Biden's explanation.
Macron said after his meeting with Biden that the two sides are "rebuilding trust," but stressed: "Trust is not just verbal, but also needs to be proven by deeds." ”