The Telegraph published this video item, entitled “Joe Biden had no idea France was ‘left in the dark’ over Aukus submarine snub” – below is their description.
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Joe Biden admitted he was completely unaware that France had not been told about the cancellation of a huge nuclear submarine contract, an oversight which caused a massive and unnecessary diplomatic rift between the two allies.
Mr Biden said it was an “honest to God” mistake as he owned up to the blunder while meeting face-to-face with French president Emmanuel Macron for the first time since the row began last month.
The US president said: “What happened was, to use an English phrase, what we did was clumsy, it was not done with a lot of grace.
“I was under the impression that France had been informed long before, that the (French) deal was not going through. Honest to God, did not know you had not.”
In September, Australia pulled out of a deal with France for diesel-powered submarines in favour of a deal, dubbed Aukus, with the United States and the UK for nuclear-powered ones
The French were not told and lost out on more than $60 billion.
An enraged French government called the secret talks leading up to the cancellation a “stab in the back”, and Mr Macron recalled his ambassadors from Washington and Canberra.
The US has since launched a concerted effort to win back the trust of its ally but France demanded “concrete” results.
The Telegraph YouTube Channel
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