France’s Foreign Ministry has pushed back against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after he alleged that France’s recognition of Palestinian statehood disrupted Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks.
In a post on X this Saturday (local time), The French Response- a newly established X account linked to the French Foreign Ministry, as cited by Politico-firmly rejected Rubio’s claims. “No, @SecRubio, the recognition of the State of Palestine did not cause the breakdown of hostage negotiations,” the account wrote.
The post was part of a thread that included a screenshot of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement dated July 24 at 3:54 p.m. (local time), where he addressed the collapse of peace negotiations in Gaza. It was followed by another screenshot showing French President Emmanuel Macron’s post on the recognition of a Palestinian state, which was shared later that same day at 9:16 p.m. (local time)—underscoring France’s timeline and stance on the issue.
“Emmanuel Macron mentioned the recognition of a Palestinian State, while underlying that the Hamas has to be disarmed and has no role to play in the governance of the Gaza Strip,” the post read.
This exchange marks an escalation in diplomatic tension between the two nations following Rubio’s strong condemnation of France’s move, which he previously labelled “reckless”.
In an earlier post on X, after Macron’s announcement, Rubio criticised the French President’s initiative at the United Nations General Assembly, saying, “This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.”
Last week, Rubio reiterated his stance, asserting that France’s announcement led Hamas to abandon peace talks, The Hill reported.
“The minute – the day – that the French announced the thing they did that day, Hamas walked away from the negotiating table… They immediately increased their demands and walked away and stopped negotiating,” Rubio said, as quoted by The Hill.Earlier in July, the French President declared that France would officially recognise Palestinian statehood during the United Nations General Assembly to be held this month.
Following in his footsteps, leaders from Australia, Canada, Portugal, and the United Kingdom are also set to recognise the State of Palestine during the Assembly. Belgium is the latest name in the list that called for recognition of the State of Palestine and further called for “firm sanctions” against the Israeli government.
On Tuesday, Macron stated that France and Saudi Arabia will co-chair a high-profile conference on the Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in New York on September 22, aimed at garnering broad international support for peace and security in the region. In a statement posted on X, Macron also called on the US to reverse its decision to deny visas to Palestinian officials, describing the move as “unacceptable”, while emphasising the importance of Palestinian representation in the conference in accordance with the Host Country Agreement. (With inputs from ANI)
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