CANBERRA:  Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Friday that he will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron to "reset" relations.

Albanese has  reportedly accepted Macron's invitation to visit France. It comes just weeks after Albanese announced that his new government had agreed to pay A$830 million (USD 573 million) in compensation to French shipbuilder Naval Group for a cancelled submarine contract.

When former Prime Minister Scott Morrison cancelled the agreement, the relationship between Australia and France deteriorated.

Instead, Australia signed AUKUS, a new defence pact with the US and the UK, infuriating Macron, who accused Morrison of lying to him and briefly recalling France's Ambassador in protest.  

Albanese, who defeated Morrison in the general election on May 21, said he expected a warm welcome in France. "I have been invited by President Macron to meet with him in France, which I will  do in a week." We do need to reset, and we've already had very constructive discussions," he told ABC TV.

"What we can provide is a relationship between our respective leaders that will not be leaked in order to make an opportunistic headline in the newspaper." One of mutual respect and honesty in our interactions.

Biden approves USD 450-mn additional security aid for Ukraine

US Senate passes first gun control bill in 28 years

Ukraine files a fresh lawsuit against Russia