Ron Bousso
Agence France Presse
PARIS: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks Wednesday in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy focusing on Iran and the crisis in the Middle East peace process. Neither leader spoke to reporters after the two hour meeting in the Elysee Palace, and Netanayahu set off for the airport immediately.
Earlier, experts said that while Israeli leader might get a sympathetic ear for his calls for tougher sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program, he would also face criticism over illegal Jewish settlement building on Palestinian land.
On the eve of the visit, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said a “real political difference” separates Sarkozy and Netanyahu over the issue, and renewed calls for an immediate construction freeze.
“We think that a freeze on settlements, that’s to say no more colonization while talks are ongoing, would be absolutely indispensable,” Kouchner told France Inter radio. “We need talks and the peace process to restart.”
Kouchner, who is due to visit Israel and the Palestinian territory next week, is worried that Israelis have given up hope of a negotiated peace.
“It seems to me, and I hope I’m wrong, that this aspiration has disappeared. It’s as if no one believes in it anymore,” he said.
On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and King Abdullah II of Jordan also called on Israel to halt settlement activity on Palestinian land, a spokesman said after talks in London.
“The premier and His Majesty … expressed concern at the lack of progress and agreed that Israeli settlement activity should be halted,” said the Downing Street spokesman.
French fears for the peace process have been exacerbated by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ threat to resign in protest at Israel’s refusal to stop building on Palestinian land in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
“The return to negotiations depends on Israel adhering to the terms of reference of peace and that means halting all settlements,” Abbas told Palestinian supporters on Wednesday in Ramallah.
Sarkozy called Abbas on Tuesday to urge him to reconsider his decision not to seek re-election next year, and was expected to pressure Netanyahu during his meeting Wednesday to halt settlement building.
The Israeli leader arrived in Paris late Tuesday after flying in from Washington, where he had held similarly tense discussions with US President Barack Obama, who has also called for a construction freeze.
Netanyahu insists he has limited settlement activity and has called for immediate peace talks with the Palestinians, but his Washington trip ended without the usual friendly joint appearance with the US leader.
The lack of a press conference was widely interpreted as a snub by Obama.
“We do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements,” senior US State Department official William Burns said Tuesday. “It obviously falls short of … a full settlement freeze.”
Netanyahu arrived at the Elysee Palace at around 1630 GMT and went straight into talks with Sarkozy. Earlier he had held talks with Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
“The prime minister presented his ideas on the need for the international community to find technological alternatives to petroleum and how to use energy to create more water,” a senior Israeli official said afterwards.
Netanyahu has in recent weeks often spoken of the need to diversify energy sources for both environmental and political reasons, alleging that some major oil exporters are also major sponsors of terrorism.
France shares Israel’s belief that Tehran is attempting to build a nuclear weapon – Iran denies this – and Sarkozy has been one of the most vociferous voices calling for sanctions on the international stage.
This week, Sarkozy will also meet Syrian President Bashar Assad, due in Paris on Friday, amid attempts to restart stalled telephone peace talks under Turkish auspices between Israel and its arch foe Syria.
The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who used to chair the conference calls, was also in Paris last week and said he was ready to resume these private negotiations if the two parties asked him to.
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