Biden tells Macron US ‘clumsy’ in Australian submarine deal

By SYLVIE CORBET and ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — President Joe Biden has told French President Emmanuel Macron that America was “clumsy” in its orchestration of a secret U.S.-British submarine deal with Australia. The contract left France in the lurch because France believed it had a similar deal with Australia. Biden and Macron met Friday in Rome, where both will attend a global summit over the weekend. Biden told Macron that he was under the impression that France had been informed about the secret talks with the British and Australia. Biden added that he thought what the U.S. did to its oldest ally was “clumsy.”