According to the British "Guardian" website reported on October 31, Australian Prime Minister Morrison has been more determined to abandon the French submarine contract, and has made contradictory statements with US President Joe Biden on the issue of whether French President Emmanuel Macron has been informed of the move.
Speaking to reporters at the G20 summit in Rome on Oct. 30, the prime minister told reporters that Australia had abandoned France's submarine contract and made the "right decision," even though his handling of the spat angered the French president and sparked implicit public criticism from Biden.
Morrison insisted he kept the Biden administration up to date on "dialogue and discussions with the French government."
But Morrison's statement contradicts biden's remarks when he met with Macron before the G20 summit.
Biden told Macron he "thought" that "France had been told" long before the announcement of the Anglo-British-US nuclear submarine agreement that Australia was interested in abandoning its $90 billion contract with the French Naval Group. When Biden said this, there were multiple television cameras on the scene.
As a result of Australia's decision to abandon its submarine program with France, France claimed that it had been "betrayed," "stabbed in the back, and deceived."
Biden said the handling of the issue was "inappropriate." It is unclear whether his criticism was directed at Morrison or at his own top aides.
Australian officials said Biden's staff did not keep the president informed in time.
Asked if Biden had made him a scapegoat, Morrison declared that Australia's tripartite agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom was the right decision and that "we would not refuse it at all."
He told reporters: "I think it's never easy for us to have to disappoint a friend or partner. It was a tough decision, but for Australia it was the right one. ”
The report pointed out that the quarrel over the submarine followed Morrison from Canberra to Rome. October 30 was Morrison's first face-to-face interaction with Macron since the cancellation of the submarine contract led to a diplomatic crisis.
Macron plans to hold multiple bilateral meetings with other leaders during the G20 summit, but no plans to hold bilateral meetings with Australia. In front of official photographs of the G20 leaders, the two met briefly and informally.
Source: Informational messages