France 'has no plan' to move embassy to Jerusalem

By Omer Aydin

PARIS

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday that his country had no plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

"France does not intend to move its embassy to a city other than Tel Aviv for now," Le Drian told RTL Radio during an interview.

He said the Palestinians needed hope while the Israeli side should take responsibility. "France will support any peace process in the region," the French minister said.

According to French Foreign Ministry, Le Drian will be in Washington Dec. 18 to meet his U.S. counterpart Rex Tillerson, addressing issues like Trump's Jerusalem move, Syria, and North Korea.

Despite widespread international opposition, the U.S. president last week announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- now occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Following Trump's move, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Paris Dec. 10, meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron who also rejected the decision.

During the press conference, Macron said he told Netanyahu that Trump's decision on Jerusalem is a “threat to peace” and “we are against it”.