Israeli President Shimon Peres on Monday said he welcomed French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans for a Mediterranean Union, but did not commit himself to his country's participation in the project. ( dpa )
Following talks with Sarkozy, Peres told journalists in Paris that Israel had for some time been planning a closer cooperation with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
"That fits well within the framework of a Mediterranean Union," he said. "When France takes over the EU presidency, we will see what role we will play in it."
Paris takes over the six-month EU presidency on July 1. Sarkozy's unilateral plans to form a Mediterranean Union has been met with concern and consternation by other EU members, particularly Germany, which insists that it must be carried out within the framework of the Union.
Peres and Sarkozy also discussed Iran, which the Israeli head of state called "the biggest danger in the world today." Its nuclear enrichment programme, which Teheran insist is intended for exclusively civilian uses, could rapidly become uncontrollable, Peres said.
Peres arrived in Paris on Monday for a five-day state visit. He is the first foreign head of state to pay a state visit to France since Sarkozy took office nine months ago.
Sarkozy "insisted on reserving this honour for the president of the state of Israel to reaffirm the strength of the friendship that unites our two countries and our two peoples," Sarkozy's spokesman, David Martinon, said.
After Monday's talks, a spokesman for Sarkozy said he had discussed Israel's controversial recent decision to allow new construction in a settlement on the West Bank.
Sarkozy had advised Peres as "a friend" that Israel's security depended on the cessation of settlement expansion on Palestinian territory, the spokesman said.
Just as Peres arrived in Paris Monday, the French government issued a statement condemning Israel's decision to approve the new construction on the West Bank.
" France condemns the continuation of settlement expansion that damages the viability of a future Palestinian state," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani said.
Peres is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Tuesday.
On Thursday, he and Sarkozy will open the Paris Book Fair, which is focused this year on Israeli literature. A number of Arab nations are boycotting the event, to which 39 Israeli writers were invited to mark the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Jewish state.
The 50-nation Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISECSCO) has also called for a boycott of the event by Muslim states.