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Reports: Sarkozy Makes Amends With Netanyahu After 'Hot Mic' Comments

President Obama, right, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy last Thursday in Cannes, France.
Jewel Samad
/
AFP/Getty Images
President Obama, right, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy last Thursday in Cannes, France.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has sent a friendly letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the AFP, Reuters and Israeli news outlets are reporting.

If you remember, Sarkozy caused a bit of uproar, last week, after an open microphone caught him telling President Obama he thought Netanyahu was "a liar."

Reuters reports that Sarkozy pledged his country's friendship in a condolence letter. Reuters adds:

Sarkozy's comments, in a condolence message to Netanyahu for the death of his father-in-law, seemed an effort to try to clear the air a week after a reported gaffe this month at the G20 summit in Cannes, when he was overheard telling U.S. President Barack Obama he thought Netanyahu was "a liar".

In addition to words of sympathy, Sarkozy's letter to Netanyahu, according to two officials in the Israeli leader's office, said:

"You have my friendship, and our differing views on the problems of the Middle East, and the interpretations appearing in the media, have no effect on it."

Over the weekend the Jerusalem Post reported that Sarkozy would visit Israel to "mend ties" with Netanyahu.

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Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.