Australia welcoming back French ambassador after sub spat

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Prime Minister Scott Morrison has welcomed France’s decision to return its ambassador to Australia and says the bilateral relationship is bigger than the canceled submarine contract. Morrison dismissed suggestions that Australia needed to rebuild its relationship with France after canceling a $66 billion contract last month, an act French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described as a “stab in the back.” France recalled its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra after Australia dropped the contract with majority French state-owned Naval Group to build 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines. Under an alliance that includes Britain, Australia will instead acquire a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines built with U.S. technology.