French official says visiting FM had ‘constructive meetings’ with Israeli ministers

Visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot held “dense and constructive meetings” today with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz and with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a French diplomatic official tells The Times of Israel.

Discussions focused on Iran, Lebanon and Gaza, says the diplomat, instead of on the French calls for a ban on arms exports to Israel, “on which disagreement was acknowledged.”

Barrot stressed the need to avoid an escalation against Iran which could lead to regional war. “Our Israeli interlocutors ensured such was not their wish,” says the diplomat.

They also discussed Lebanon, especially Israel’s demands for a ceasefire. According to the diplomat, there was a “shared desire to deepen the talks within the context of French efforts toward ending the war.”

The sides disagreed over the role of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip after the war.

In his meetings in Ramallah, says the diplomat, Barrot heard PA officials lay out the security, financial and political challenges facing the organizations. They also presented to Barrot the reforms the PA had undertaken recently, and urged France to recognize Palestine as a country.