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David Martinon: "We have the impression that we have gone back before 1967."
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PARIS (AFP)---France and Israel are in the midst of a
"honeymoon" in their relationship, French presidential spokesman David Martinon said Wednesday.
"Honeymoon is not too strong a word to qualify the relationship between France and Israel," Martinon said in a speech before CRIF, the umbrella group of French Jewish organisations.
"We have the impression that we have gone back before 1967," when
Franco-Israeli relations soured, notably over an arms embargo due to the Israeli-Arab war that year.
President Nicolas Sarkozy "is very proud and very happy about this because it gives us more leverage to make things happen," he told the CRIF.
Sarkozy believes that Israel should be "talked to like a friend and not be lectured continuously", he added.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was quoted as saying in an
interview in Israel on Sunday that France "will never compromise on Israel’s security."
The French Foreign Minister was in Israel over the weekend for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders aimed at ensuring the success of a peace conference next week in Annapolis, Maryland.