European Union foreign ministers on Monday (September 20) discussed Australia's scrapping of a $40 billion submarine order with France in favor of a U.S. and British deal, as France said it has a "crisis in confidence" with Washington.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders for the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
"The current challenges to stability in the region call for more cooperation and coordination among like-minded partners," European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after the meeting.
"Certainly Australia, UK and US are like-minded partners with the European Union. More cooperation, more coordination, less fragmentation," he said.
Borrell met with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne in New York on Monday.
It is not clear if the dispute will have implications for the next round of EU-Australia trade talks, scheduled for October 12.
Separately, Borrel also told reporters that ministers from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia will not meet with Iran on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations this week.
Diplomats were tentatively planning for a ministerial meeting of the parties to the 2015 nuclear deal on Wednesday (September 22) on the sidelines of the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders.
Earlier on Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters the ministers needed to make sure they try to launch some "positive momentum" this week for Iran nuclear negotiations to resume.
A sixth round of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington was adjourned in June after hardliner Ebrahim Raisi was elected Iran's president. Raisi took office in August.