TEL AVIV (AFP) – French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was Sunday in Israel to advance his country’s plan to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts in the face of opposition from his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
Contents: Pentagon deploying hundreds of troops to Helmand in Afghanistan; Turkey’s Erdogan splits further with US, blaming it for a ‘sea of blood’
Contents: West Bank tensions rise after Palestinian policeman shot dead; Israel rejects France’s ultimatum to recognize state of Palestine
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is willing to “cooperate” with the West in Syria against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) but does not believe the West is ready to work with their coalition.
All the major powers are now agreed that crushing the Islamic State is the priority in Syria, and Russia will avoid air strikes against moderate Syrian rebel groups, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said today his negotiating partners in the P5+1 should avoid “making excessive demands” on Iran. Zarif was speaking of an unresolved issue in the ongoing nuclear negotiations: giving inspectors access to Iran’s military sites.
As part of a final nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 world powers (U.S., UK, Germany, France, Russia, China), Tehran has demanded at least twenty-four days notice before inspectors are allowed to review their nuclear enrichment sites, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has reportedly disclosed.
The foreign ministers of both Germany and France offered strong praise for Hillary Clinton after she announced her presidential campaign.
The French delegation in Switzerland felt the outline for a nuclear deal with Iran was “not solid enough,” and wanted to improve upon the deal before signing off on the accord, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Europe 1 radio on Friday.
