Sarkozy meets Rivlin, condemns boycotts

President Reuven Rivlin meets with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

Rivlin welcomes the former French premier and says, “As a dear friend of the people and State of Israel, I am pleased to welcome you back to Israel. You know better than many that in order to establish good relations between people, we have to first build confidence. The Israel-Palestinian conflict is not a conflict but a tragedy, and unilateral steps, boycotts, and attempts to exert pressure though international bodies will not bring an end to this tragedy. Unilateral actions will not lead to talks. The only solution to the situation is direct negotiations.”

Sarkozy thanks Rivlin and says, “I want to state how much we condemn unequivocally any idea of a boycott against Israeli democracy.”