Australian media published today, Tuesday, exchanged messages between French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in response to Paris's accusations that Canberra "lied" to them regarding a multi-billion dollar submarine supply contract. Australia had canceled the deal with the French naval group in September and opted instead to construct at least 12 nuclear-powered submarines after reaching an agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom, according to Reuters.
The cancellation of the contract sparked significant controversy between the two countries. On Sunday, President Macron stated that the Australian Prime Minister had lied to him regarding Australia's intentions, a claim that Scott Morrison denied.
A source familiar with the messages revealed that when Morrison attempted to arrange a call with Macron about the submarine contract on September 14, two days before announcing the agreement with Washington and London, Macron replied with a message that asked, "Should I expect good or sad news about our shared ambitions concerning submarines?" The response message from Morrison to this question has not been leaked.
France stated that Australia did not attempt to inform them of canceling the deal until the day Canberra announced its agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom. Recently, the European Union postponed the next round of talks on a free trade agreement for the second time amid anger raised by Canberra's decision to cancel the contract with France.
