PARIS, Dec 14: Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki failed to turn up for lunch with his French counterpart on Saturday, a diplomat said, in what could be Iran’s latest protest over tough French rhetoric towards the Tehran government.

Mottaki was due to meet Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner before Sunday’s international talks near Paris on Afghanistan, but gave no reason for not attending the lunch meeting.

“The meeting was cancelled,” the French diplomat said.

Iran summoned France’s ambassador to protest what it said were “inappropriate remarks” by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Iranian state media reported on Thursday.

Sarkozy, a critic of Iran since coming to power last year, said on Monday he could not shake hands with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for saying Israel should be “wiped off the map”. He also said Ahmadinejad did not represent Iran.

The French diplomat said it was unclear who would represent Iran at the one-day meeting of foreign ministers and senior officials from countries, including Pakistan, China, the United States and Russia.—Reuters