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Rabat – France has faced another setback with Switzerland’s decision to buy the F-35 fleet from the US instead of France’s Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft.
Reports from Swiss media suggested that Switzerland’s choice has led an “angry” Emmanuel Macron to cancel a meeting in Paris between the French president and his Swiss counterpart, President Guy Permlin.
The meeting was scheduled for November, but reports indicate France is no longer in the mood to discuss strategic questions after Switzerland’s decision to call off a military deal.
According to diplomatic sources quoted in both French and Swiss media, Paris is accusing the Swiss Department of Defense of having engaged in “continued negotiations to buy the French Rafale when the decision to buy American planes was already taken.”
Other reports have suggested, however, that France denied having canceled the meeting between the French and Swiss presidents.
“It was never cancelled and especially not due to the reasons mentioned,” France’s Elysee Palace said in a statement.
The Elysee said that President Macron’s office has only informed the Swiss government that a meeting in November would be “complicated” given recent developments.
“The final date for the meeting has not been set yet,” the statement added.
President Permalin’s office also denied that the meeting with Macron had been canceled. Both governments appear to be suggesting that the scheduling for the encounter had not been completed by the time news emerged of Geneva’s decision to ditch France’s Dassault Rafale fighter jets for the US-made F-35 fleet.
The news comes amid ongoing diplomatic tensions between France, Australia, and the US after the Australian government’s decision to cancel an agreement for French submarines.
The Australian government chose US made nuclear-powered vessels instead, prompting the French foreign minister, Yves Le Drian to vent his frustration at both Washington and Canberra by saying that France had been stabbed in the back by two allies.
France has recalled its ambassadors from both Australia and the US, and some analysts have suggested this is only “the tip of the iceberg” in a diplomatic crisis that is expected to fester for weeks to come.
Despite a series of remonstrances from France, the Australian government has defended its decision by emphasizing that it does not regret putting its interest first.
“I don’t regret the decision to put Australia’s national interests first,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
