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Israeli Prime Minister to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysée presidential palace June 3.
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PARIS (EJP)---France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has invited Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to talks in Paris on June 3, his office announced.
It will be their first first meeting since Netanyahu took office in March.
The announcement came after France accused Netanyahu of prejudicing the outcome of the Middle East peace process by declaring that Jerusalem would forever be Israel's undivided capital.
On Thursday, at a ceremony marking the reunification of Jerusalem after the Six Day War, Netanyahu said: "Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. It has always been, will remain so forever and will never be divided."
"The declaration made by the Israeli Prime Minister in Jerusalem prejudices the final status agreement," a Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters.
"In France's eyes, Jerusalem should, within the framework of a negotiated peace deal, become the capital of two states," the spokesman said, adding that President Sarkozy had told Israeli lawmakers this in a speech to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, last year.