French President Nicolas Sarkozy might visit Israel in January to try to clarify "misunderstandings" following comments on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he made recently during a private conversation with US President Barack Obama.
Although such a visit has not yet been confirmed by the Elysee, the French presidential palace, it is Sarkozy’s former Mideast special envoy, Valerie Hoffenberg, who announced the president’s visit.
"I met the President and I suggested him to visit Israel in order to speak directly to the Israeli people and in particular to the French Israelis," she said.
Sarkozy was quoted as calling Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu "a liar" in a conversation with US President Barack Obama at the G20 summmit in Cannes earlier this month.
The remark, which was made in private but overheard by the press, has created a diplomatic unease between Israel and France. France also angered Israel with its recent vote to admit the Palestinians as full members of UNESCO, the UN cultural and education body.
Sarkozy last week wrote a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu to reaffirm his friendship despite what he refers to as their "differing views on the Middle East," the Israeli press reported.
Sarkozy's comments were made in a condolence message to Netanyahu for the death of his father-in-law, Shmuel Ben-Artzi.
In the letter, the French president reportedly said: "You have my friendship, and our differing views on the problems of the Middle East, and the interpretations appearing in the media, have no effect on it."
Last week, during a meeting with leaders of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) in Paris, Sarkozy tried to reassure them of his "unconditional commitment to Israel’s well-being, which throughout his political career had always been close to his heart," according to WJC.