US President, Joe Biden on Friday, October 29 admitted that his administration was “clumsy” in its handling of the nuclear submarine deal that deprived France of billions in defense contracts, IgbereTV reports.
Biden met with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in Rome, in a meeting meant to repair fractured ties after a rift over an agreement to provide Australia with submarines.
Last month, the US, the United Kingdom and Australia announced a new partnership that includes providing assistance to help Australia develop nuclear-powered submarines — a deal France says was made without its knowledge, ending it’s own contract with Australia to provide less effective diesel-powered submarines.
The rift escalated to the point that France temporarily recalled its US ambassador, and even Biden was caught off-guard by how furious French officials became over the matter.
“I was under the impression that France had been informed long before that the deal was not going through, honest to God,” Biden said on Friday, sitting alongside Macron in the French Embassy to the Holy See.
