Australia’s scrapping of submarine contract with France broke trust: Macron

In a first phone call since the controversial submarine crisis triggered a major diplomatic row, the French president told the Australian premier that their decision to cancel the strategic contract broke the trust between the two countries.

The submarine issue dominated the discussion between Emmanuel Macron and Scott Morrison on Thursday ahead of the G20 summit in Rome and COP26 in Glasgow, where the two leaders are likely to meet in person.

According to Australian ABC News, Morrison had attempted a phone call with Macron last month but the French president did not respond positively. The two leaders were able to talk after Morrison wrote him a letter earlier this month, the report added quoting the Australian prime minister's office.

“Australia’s unilateral decision to scale back the French-Australian strategic partnership by putting an end to the ocean-class submarine program in favor of another as-yet-unspecified project broke the relationship of trust between our two countries,” a statement from the Elysee Palace read. It added that France will pay “utmost attention” to the commercial interests of French and Australian businesses affected by this decision.

Throwing the ball in Canberra’s court, Macron also told Morrison that it was up to the Australian government to “redefine the bilateral relationship and continue joint action in the Indo-Pacific.”