Paris:French President Emmanuel Macron and his US counterpart Joe Biden have agreed to meet in October in Europe over the controversial Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) security partnership. The AUKUS deal, which was described as a "stab in the back" by France and sparked outcry across Europe, has raised concerns over nuclear proliferation from the international community as under the deal Australia has scrapped a contract to buy submarines from France in favour of US-made nuclear vessels, reports Xinhuanews agency.
During a phone call on Wednesday, the two Presidents "agreed that the situation would have benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners", according to a joint statement.
Since the AUKUS pact was unveiled on September 15, France, outraged by the abrupt move without notice, has accused Australia and the US of "lying, duplicity, a major breach of trust and contempt" and also recalled its Ambassadors to the two countries.
Macron and Biden "have decided to open a process of in-depth consultations aimed at creating the conditions for ensuring confidence and proposing concrete measures toward common objectives", said the statement. They will meet in Europe at the end of October "in order to reach shared understandings and maintain momentum in this process", it added.