France announced today that it will energetically oppose any attempt to expel Israel from the United Nations General Assembly or any other UN specialized agency. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that France will not only vote against such a move but will exert its influence on friendly African and Latin American states to convince them to oppose it as well.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said the French delegation to the International Telecommunications Union’s Plenipotentiary Conference, now meeting in Nairobi, has been instructed to play an active role to prevent Israel’s exclusion. The Arab states, with the help of a number of non-aligned countries have submitted a motion calling for Israel’s expulsion. A vote on this was expected today.
France made it clear that “we want to convince the Arab states to recognize Israel and sign a peace agreement with it. Expelling Israel would be a serious setback to any peaceful solution.” France had voted against the non-recognition of the Israeli delegation’s credentials at the last session of the international Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.
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