An open mike at G20 conference in Cannes yesterday caught French President Nicholas and US President Barack Obama talking about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in unflattering terms. Obama and Sarkozy had gone to a side room for a private conversation, not realizing that there was an open microphone there.
According to French Web site "Arret sur Images", Sarkozy was overheard telling Obama about Netanyahu, “I cannot stand him. He is a liar."
Obama replied, "You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day!"
Obama then urged Sarkozy to try to persuade the Palestinian Authority to go easy in its campaign for membership in the UN. Obama chided Sarkozy for not warning him that France would vote to admit the Palestinians into UNESCO, a step the US opposed.
The White House has not commented on the exchange, which "Arret sur Images"said was not widely reported in France because the journalists who overheard it agreed not to publish the remarks.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 8, 2011
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