Paris canceled a meeting that was scheduled to take place this week between the French and British defense ministers.

And Agence France-Presse quoted a source close to the French Defense Ministry that a meeting that was scheduled to take place this week between the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly and her British counterpart, Ben Wallace, was canceled at the request of Paris.

The cancellation of the meeting comes in the midst of a crisis between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, after the three countries announced, on Wednesday, the launch of a strategic partnership to confront China, which includes supplying Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines, and thus the Australian side withdrew from an agreement to purchase French submarines.

The crisis escalated between the allies over that deal, and French sources revealed that US President Joe Biden had asked to contact French President Emmanuel Macron.

On Sunday, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal announced that US President Joe Biden had asked to speak to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, noting that “a phone call will take place (between them) in the coming days.”

“We want explanations about what appears to be a significant undermining of confidence,” the spokesman told BMFTTV, after France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia on Friday in response to Canberra’s decision.

The meeting between Macron and the Swiss president has been canceled and Paris denies

On the same front, the Swiss newspapers Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung reported that the French canceled the meeting scheduled for November between Swiss President Guy Parmoulin and his counterpart Emmanuel Macron, against the background of France’s anger over Berne’s decision to buy American fighter planes.

The two newspapers, quoting unnamed diplomatic sources, added that France chose to cancel the meeting due to its anger at the way the Swiss conducted negotiations with them before they took the decision in June to purchase 36 F-35I aircraft from Lockheed Martin.

According to the sources, Paris accused the Swiss Defense Ministry of continuing to negotiate with other companies, including the French “Dassault”, the manufacturer of the “Rafale” plane, after it had already reached a decision to buy American fighters.

But the French government and Parmoulan’s office denied officially canceling the meeting, stressing that the scheduling of dates had not yet been completed.

The Elysee Palace in Paris said: “The meeting was never canceled, especially for the reasons mentioned.”

He explained that President Macron had agreed in principle at the beginning of the year to meet his Swiss counterpart, and that the Swiss had proposed a date in November.

“We told them this summer that the month of November will be complicated,” the Elysee Palace added, adding that the deadline for the meeting “has not been set yet.”

Also, Parmlin’s office insisted that because the timetable had not been finalized, the change of plans did not amount to a “cancellation of a confirmed date.” He also stressed that the visit is not a state visit, but rather a “working visit by the president.”

The European Union will discuss the Australian-US-British agreement

On the other hand, European Union foreign ministers will hold a meeting, Monday, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, to discuss the Australian-US-British security agreement that prompted Canberra to cancel a submarine deal with France.

EU Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Peter Stano said: “This is the first opportunity for EU foreign ministers to discuss the implications and consequences of the entire agreement; Not just the problem between France and Australia, but the repercussions of the entire Australian-British-American alliance.”

He explained, “The meeting will last two hours, and Borrell will make an announcement about it.”

The spokesman stressed that the meeting is not exceptional, but rather is the traditional meeting of European Union ministers during the United Nations General Assembly, “during which they discuss all topical issues that have a significant impact on the European Union or its member states.”

The European Union asserts that it was not “consulted or informed” of the strategic partnership in the Indo-Pacific concluded between Washington, London and Canberra, the first of which was the termination of a major arms contract between France and Australia.

In an expression of its anger, France recalled its ambassador to the United States in an unprecedented move towards this historical ally, as well as its ambassador to Australia.

A spokesman for European Commission President Ursula Vo der Leyen said she was “following the situation closely.”

“When a member country expresses great concern, we listen,” said spokesman Eric Mammer, adding that von der Leyen had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron.