British and French politicians meet during a Franco-British summit in Amiens, northern France. (Reuters)
Brexit ‘won't harm’ Franco-British defense ties
Brexit will not damage in any way the extremely strong defense cooperation that we have with Britain
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian assured on Friday that Britain’s Brexit vote would not affect Franco-British military cooperation.
“Brexit will not damage in any way the extremely strong defense cooperation that we have with Britain,” Le Drian told reporters during a visit to the southern city of Aix-en-Provence.
“This partnership exists and will continue to exist. The British Minister (Michael Fallon), who I met this morning, has confirmed this shared wish to continue with this very strong cooperation,” he added.
His comments follow reassurances from NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg a week ago, a day after Britain voted in a referendum to leave the European Union, that Britain would continue to play a leading role in the Western alliance.
Stoltenberg said Fallon, Britain’s Secretary of State for Defence, had phoned him on June 24 to offer assurances that London “was not only committed to NATO but also to NATO-EU cooperation”.
