French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne speaks during a press conference at the Pine Palace, in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 28. Hassan Ammar/AP

France has said now is not the “right time” for it to join its European Union neighbors, Ireland and Spain, in recognizing Palestinian statehood.  

The country’s Foreign Minister Stephane Séjourne stressed that his government’s “position is clear” that the recognition of Palestinian statehood is “not a taboo” for France. His remarks come after Ireland, Spain and Norway all announced their plans to formally recognize a Palestinian state on May 28.  

“This decision must be useful, in other words, it must enable a decisive advance to be made on the political front,” Séjourne said in a foreign ministry statement on Wednesday.  

“France does not consider that the conditions have yet been met for this decision to have a real impact on this process. … With this in mind, it must come at the right time, so that there is a before and an after,” he added. 

The foreign minister stressed that such a decision is not merely a “symbolic issue or a question of political positioning” but rather a “diplomatic tool” in the service of the two-state solution in the Middle East.   

Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris told a news conference earlier Wednesday that he was “confident” that “more countries will join us” in recognizing Palestinian statehood in the near future.  

On Tuesday, France broke away from its Western allies and expressed support for the International Criminal Court after the court announced its decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, as well as Hamas leaders.

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