France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Tuesday said he is to head to the Middle East to discuss the possible establishment of relations between Israel and Arab states, including Saudi Arabia.
The trip is taking place ahead of an international conference in June during which France may formally recognise Palestinian statehood.
The trip, which begins in Iraq, will also take Mr Barrot to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia over three days. “I will first be in Iraq to continue our tireless fight against Daesh [ISIS] terrorism, which threatens to resurface in Syria and Iraq, and to strengthen the country, which must become a centre of stability for the region,” Mr Barrot told radio station France Info.
President Emmanuel Macron this month announced France's intention to recognise a Palestinian state as part of a broader diplomatic drive aimed at securing regional peace and setting up Arab diplomatic relations with Israel. The June summit, to be co-hosted with Saudi Arabia in New York, is expected to focus on advancing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“What we want to trigger is a series of other recognitions” of a Palestinian state, “but also the recognition of Israel by states that today do not do so”, Mr Macron said last week.
Asked whether developing Saudi-Israel relations was an objective, Mr Barrot said: “This is obviously an objective for security and peace in the region – more generally, that all the countries in the region around and with Israel agree to enter into what is called in diplomatic jargon a security architecture like we have in Europe and which allows us to guarantee stability and, in a way, solidarity.”
Mr Barrot outlined France's conditions for recognising a Palestinian state, including the disarmament of Hamas, reform of the Palestinian Authority and the involvement of Arab states in the reconstruction of Gaza.
“As there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as there is no military solution to the security of Israel, we must move as quickly as possible towards a political solution: two states living side-by-side in peace and security,” he said.
France's diplomatic initiative comes amid long-standing US-led talks over a possible defence deal with Saudi Arabia tied to Riyadh's establishment of formal ties with Israel. US President Donald Trump is expected to visit Saudi Arabia in May before the New York conference.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticised France's plans. “President Macron is gravely mistaken when he continues to promote the idea of a Palestinian state in the heart of our country, whose sole ambition is the destruction of the state of Israel,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X on April 13.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported last week that Mr Macron hopes Israel will also endorse a two-state solution at the June gathering, though only in vague terms. The report, which does not name its sources, said the proposed framework could include a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza while preserving Israel's right to conduct military strikes in the enclave.
