Screenshot of the report
According to the British "Guardian" reported on the 2nd, French officials expressed anger at Australian Prime Minister Morrison's decision to leak the content of his private text message with French President Macron. The diplomatic rift between the two countries is deepening.
A close adviser to Macron told French media on Tuesday: "Trust [in France] in Australia has been completely shattered. Disclosing text message exchanges between heads of state or government is a rather crude and unconventional trick. The adviser told Le Parisien that the French president "would never" disclose such communications. "It's not the kind of approach that could improve the relationship between France and Australia," he said. ”
According to the British Sky News reported on the 2nd, after Macron accused Morrison of lying to him about canceling the submarine contract, Morrison was accused of releasing a private text message with Macron, in order to show that Macron knew in advance about the cancellation of the submarine contract. Two days before the announcement of the "AUKUS" security partnership and the cancellation of the main contract for submarines between France and Australia, Macron asked Morrison in a text message whether he should expect good news or bad news about submarines.
But French officials insisted that two days before Australia canceled the tens of billions of dollars in procurement contracts, the text messages showed Macron "did not know what stage of the negotiations had reached." Meanwhile, the French Elysee Palace has also denied Canberra's claim that it had repeatedly tried to contact Paris to warn of the news to be announced. A French official said only one phone call had entered the presidential palace at the time, and it was at 11 a.m. on Wednesday — when Macron was holding a routine cabinet meeting. The official said: "It is hard to believe that the Australian prime minister has not been informed of this restriction. He knew very well that the president was not available at the time. ”
The Elysee Palace also said Morrison could have had a conciliatory meeting with Macron at the G20 summit or COP26 climate summit in recent days. However, the source said: "Macron was waiting for Morrison's proposal, but he did not come. The Guardian noted that Morrison spoke on the phone with Macron last week, in which he urged the Australian government to come up with concrete steps to repair relations between the two countries.
Macron's text message to Morrison (screenshot of the report)
Morrison, on the other hand, insisted that at a dinner party in Paris in mid-June, he told Macron "very clearly" that "conventional diesel-powered submarines cannot meet Australia's strategic needs". But at the same time, the Australian prime minister also said that at that stage, he was not free to disclose to Macron that Australia would work with the United States and Britain to buy nuclear-powered submarines because the plans had not yet been finalized and were "confidential".
(Editor: WDQ)