France called home its ambassadors from Australia and the United States on Friday due to the diplomatic crisis created by the submarine case.
– We regret that they have taken this step. We will continue to work on this in the coming days and solve our problems as we have done other times in our long alliance, says a White House official, who spoke anonymously.
The official added that they will work to resolve the conflict.
A statement from the Australian Foreign Ministry also regretted France’s decision.
“Australia understands France’s great disappointment with our decision, which was taken in accordance with our clear and communicated national security interests,” the statement said Saturday night.
– We want to continue to cooperate with France in many other matters, it continues.
The diplomatic dispute arose when a comprehensive defense agreement between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom was announced on Wednesday. It led Australia to drop a lucrative deal to buy submarines from France.
China has also reacted strongly to this and believes the defense agreement will damage international efforts against nuclear power.
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