France Warns: Canceling Submarines Deal with Australia Threatens Future of NATO

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian considered that Australia's cancellation of the purchase of French submarines and their replacement with US nuclear-powered submarines, "will affect the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

A NATO official had played down the seriousness of the dispute between France, the United States, and Australia over the submarine deal.

He ruled out that it would have an impact on "military cooperation" within the alliance.

Last Thursday, France accused Australia of "stabbing it in the back", and accused the United States of continuing the behavior it followed during the era of former President Donald Trump.

The French fanatic reaction came after Canberra canceled a huge deal to obtain submarines from Paris, in order to obtain American-made nuclear-powered submarines.

France recalled its ambassadors in Australia and the United States, for consultations, against the backdrop of the crisis.

And Le Drian, in an interview with "France 2" channel, this evening, Saturday, said that the issue of the contract on the construction of submarines for the Australian army led to a "serious crisis" in relations between Paris on the one hand and Washington and Canberra on the other, accusing them of lying.

Le Drian noted that the recall of the French ambassadors from the United States and Australia was aimed at showing Paris' discontent and reviewing relations.

He stressed that Paris recalling its ambassador from Washington, for the first time in the history of their bilateral relations, reflects the seriousness of the current crisis, noting that the actions of the United States towards the ally represented by France are unacceptable.

The French Foreign Minister also accused Britain of "continuous opportunism" over the submarine issue.

And on Wednesday evening, US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison issued a joint statement announcing the establishment of a new partnership in the fields of defense and security called "AUKUS", and the first project in its framework will be to build nuclear submarines. For the Australian Naval War Fleet.

Relations between France and the United States and Australia entered a period of open crisis, as the Australian government, through the establishment of this new partnership, canceled a $40 billion deal to buy French submarines and decided to replace them with American nuclear-fueled ones.

The AUKUS partnership prompted Paris to describe the matter as “betrayal and a stab in the back.