France should weigh its foreign policy priorities, and given the new AUKUS alliance in the Asia-Pacific region and its disagreements with the US, it should improve relations with Russia, among other countries, according to a representative of the French National Assembly (the lower house of parliament).
It is also conceivable that Paris may reconsider its membership in NATO. Nonetheless, according to analysts contacted by Izvestia, it will not lead to a breakdown in ties between Paris and its NATO partner.
On September 16, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States announced the AUKUS trilateral military agreement. Its declared goal is to keep the Indo-Pacific area stable.
Experts informed Izvestia that there may be a desire to resist China. Beijing’s response to the new alliance was vehement.
Meanwhile, France saw the new partnership as harmful to its own interests and a betrayal. Benoit Simian, a member of the French National Assembly, told Izvestia that withdrawal from NATO should not be ruled out as a reaction.
He thinks that France should consider how to improve its diplomatic ties and collaboration with Russia.
Nonetheless, no matter how resonant the controversy is, it is still too early to speak about a tipping point in France-NATO ties. “Relationships with Australia and building the Indo-‘great Pacific’s anti-Chinese wall,’ restraining and confronting China are the very top objectives of US foreign policy for the next decades,” Russian International Affairs Council analyst Alexander Yermakov told Izvestia.
“Europe, NATO relations, and France’s complaints don’t matter here, and this is clearly shown,” he said.
