Australia welcoming back French ambassador after sub spat

Australia is welcoming France’s decision to return its ambassador to Australia and says he hopes the two nations can repair the damage from a cancelled submarine contract

CANBERRA, Australia -- Australian government ministers welcomed France’s decision to return its ambassador to Australia and said Thursday they hoped the two nations could repair the damage from a cancelled submarine contract.

“We welcome back the French Ambassador to Canberra, and hopefully we can move beyond our recent disappointments,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, deputy leader of the ruling conservative Liberal Party, told Nine Network TV.

France recalled its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra last month after Australia cancelled a 90 billion Australian dollar ($66 billion) 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.