Paris denied the cancellation of a summit meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Swiss President Guy Parmelin in Paris, as reported by "Al Arabiya." The Élysée Palace stated, according to "AFP," that the summit was not canceled due to a dispute concerning a deal Switzerland made to acquire advanced American fighter jets. The French presidency indicated that a final date for the French-Swiss summit has not yet been set, explaining that Macron had initially agreed to meet Parmelin earlier this year and that the Swiss side proposed holding the meeting in November. However, Paris informed them last summer that organizing the meeting in November could be a challenging task.
For its part, the Swiss president's office said that a change in the proposed plans does not mean the agreed rendezvous is canceled, as its schedule has not been finalized yet. This comes after Swiss media reported that the French decided to cancel the summit due to their anger over Switzerland's June deal to acquire 36 "F-35A" fighter jets from American company Lockheed Martin.
The development is happening amid an ongoing crisis between France and Australia over Australia's cancellation of a French submarine deal in favor of American ones, which angered France. Simultaneously, in London, before leaving for New York to participate in United Nations meetings, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson downplayed the diplomatic rift with France regarding the new security agreement with Australia and the United States. Johnson stated that "his country’s love for France cannot be erased," emphasizing the "huge importance" of relations between the two nations.
Previously, two informed sources indicated that France canceled a meeting between its Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, which was scheduled for this week. The cancellation occurred amid a crisis involving the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom after the three nations announced a strategic partnership that includes providing Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to make a phone call to U.S. President Joe Biden in the coming days. According to French government spokesman Gabriel Attal, the call will discuss the ongoing diplomatic crisis between the two countries due to the submarine deal.
