A private conversation between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. President Barack Obama was mistakenly broadcast to journalists in Cannes last week, reports Reuters.
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Sarkozy, unaware that microphones had been turned on in his meeting room during the G20 summit, was overheard telling Obama, “I cannot bear Netanyahu, he’s a liar.”
According to a French interpreter, Obama replied, “You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him even more often than you.”
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The exchange — in reference to Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu — was broadcast to a group of reporters in a separate location, all of whom chose not to report the comments. Initially, the conversation was considered private and off-the-record, but news of the technical mishap eventually made its way to French websites.
Netanyahu’s office declined to comment immediately, but the trio is expected to work together in an effort to increase international pressure of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. It is unclear why Sarkozy slammed the Israeli leader, but Obama has been openly critical of him in the past, specifically regarding Jewish settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories.
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