French President Emmanuel Macron said today that France's opinion "was not taken into account" regarding the start of the Israeli-American operation against Iran, and that the country will not participate in it, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
Macron's statement is in response to criticism from US President Donald Trump, who accused France of refusing to provide its airspace for the supply of a flight carrying American weapons used in the war against Iran.
"It is completely normal for France, whose opinion was not taken into account and which is not part of the Israeli-American operation, not to participate in it. But there is nothing new in this, this position has been true since the first day (of the war - ed. note), so we should not be surprised", said the French president in an interview with the Japanese channel NHK during his visit to Tokyo.
Donald Trump accused France yesterday of having "helped too little" in this war, expressing disappointment that the country "did not allow planes flying to Israel and loaded with military equipment to fly over French territory".
The Élysée Palace has already expressed its surprise at the US president's statement, stressing that "this has been France's position since the beginning of the conflict".
The French president once again called for the restoration of peace, for de-escalation and for the resumption of negotiations, which he said were the only way to resolve the main problems.
"Nothing would be worse than bombing a region for weeks and then withdrawing from there without developing a new framework. The approach that France is taking is to develop a strict framework for cooperation," Macron explained.
He also advocated the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz "in a peaceful and consistent manner, with the cooperation of all parties concerned."
The blockade of the important sea route, imposed by Iran in response to the Israeli-American operation, is hindering the passage of oil supplies. This is affecting the economies of many countries, including Japan, which depends largely on crude oil imported from the Middle East.
According to Emmanuel Macron, France and Japan "together with several other countries from Asia, the Middle East or Europe," can contribute to the safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
He specified that "in general" there will be no question of "intervention by military means".
"We can do it precisely because we are not participating in this war," the French president emphasized.