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France Says Conditions Not Right to Recognize Palestinian State

Oded Balilty / File photo by The AP
Oded Balilty / File photo by The AP
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France Says Conditions Not Right to Recognize Palestinian State

Oded Balilty / File photo by The AP
Oded Balilty / File photo by The AP

France said on Wednesday conditions were not right to officially recognize a Palestinian state and that such a decision must be more than just symbolic or political posturing.

Remarks by Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne distanced France from Ireland, Spain and Norway, which said on Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, hoping to accelerate efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

"France does not consider that the conditions have yet been met for this decision to have a real impact on this process," Sejourne said after talks in Paris with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

Paris has previously said recognizing a Palestinian state is not taboo, but should be part of a broader effort to achieve a two-state solution between Palestinians and Israelis.

Despite lobbying by several European countries and some Arab states to recognize a Palestinian state, France has said that doing so would do little to change the situation on the ground without genuine negotiations, Reuters reported.

"This is not just a symbolic issue or a question of political positioning, but a diplomatic tool in the service of the solution of two states living side by side in peace and security", Sejourne said.

French diplomats say symbolic recognition will be of no use, especially without real momentum towards a political process supported by the United States, Israel's main ally.

France has been working on a draft UN Security Council resolution that it hopes to table over the summer.

It wants to bring the parameters for talks on a two-state solution back to the Security Council.

The US believes a Palestinian state should be achieved through negotiations and not unilateral recognition, and has the power of veto at the United Nations.

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Ukrainian Drones Knock out Two Substations Near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station

A war crimes prosecutor works at a site of a Russian drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Lviv, Ukraine June 19, 2024. (Reuters)
A war crimes prosecutor works at a site of a Russian drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Lviv, Ukraine June 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ukrainian Drones Knock out Two Substations Near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station

A war crimes prosecutor works at a site of a Russian drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Lviv, Ukraine June 19, 2024. (Reuters)
A war crimes prosecutor works at a site of a Russian drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Lviv, Ukraine June 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Russian-installed officials said on Friday that Ukrainian drone attacks had put out of action two electricity substations in Enerhodar, the town serving the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and cut power to most of its residents.

But an official at the occupied Zaporizhzhia station, Europe's largest nuclear plant with six reactors, said it was unaffected by the military action.

On Saturday morning, the Russian management of the station said on their official Telegram channel that some "infrastructure facilities", including the transport department and print shop, experienced disruptions following the attacks.

They said that nuclear safety measures remain fully operational.

Russian troops seized the plant in the early days of the February 2022 invasion and Moscow and Kyiv have since routinely accused each other of endangering safety around it. It produces no electricity at the moment.

Eduard Senovoz, the top official in Enerhodar, wrote on Telegram that the latest attack had damaged the second of two substations supplying the town. The other substation was destroyed on Wednesday, he wrote.

Ukrainian officials have made no comment on the incidents and Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.

Russian news agencies quoted Yevgeny Yashin, director of communications at the Zaporizhzhia station, as saying the latest attack had no effect on the nuclear plant. And he said the substation could be repaired.

"Specialists have gone out to the site to assess the damage," Yashin told RIA news agency. "There is a chance to restore the damaged transformer but it will take time."

Russia launched mass attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the first winter of the conflict and resumed a long series of attacks in March.

Kyiv says the renewed attacks have knocked out half of Ukraine's energy generating capacity and forced blackouts.

Ukraine has stepped up its use of drones this year to attack Russian oil facilities. Ukrainian drones struck four Russian oil refineries as well as radar stations and other military targets in Russia in the early hours of Friday, Kyiv's military said.