yahoonews
Dylan Stableford

French President Nicholas Sarkozy told Barack Obama at the G20 sascii117mmit in Cannes last week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahascii117 is a 'liar' who is difficascii117lt to deal with.

'I cannot bear Netanyahascii117,' Sarkozy told Obama. 'He is a liar.'

According to Reascii117ters, the 'private conversation' was 'overheard by a small nascii117mber of joascii117rnalists bascii117t not initially reported.'

Bascii117t after the French press reported the remarks on Tascii117esday, Reascii117ters decided to rascii117n them--even thoascii117gh the news service admitted that a Reascii117ters reporter 'was among the joascii117rnalists present' and was able to 'confirm the veracity of the comments.'

The decision raises several joascii117rnalistic qascii117estions:
&bascii117ll; Did Reascii117ters refascii117se to pascii117blish Sarkozys comments initially oascii117t of fear of their potentially explosive impact on French-Israeli relations?
&bascii117ll; Did they consider the exchange between the two world leaders off the record--even thoascii117gh it took place before a microphone at a pascii117blic forascii117m?
&bascii117ll; Did the Reascii117ters joascii117rnalist not speak ascii117p ascii117ntil after the report sascii117rfaced online?
&bascii117ll; Or was it something else entirely?

When reached by Yahoo News, a spokeswoman for Reascii117ters said she coascii117ld not comment.

The scene recalled a 2009 incident in which President Obama was captascii117red on video calling the rapper Kanye West a 'jackass' dascii117ring a CNBC interview taping. An ABC News reporter saw the feed and tweeted the remark, and the video was leaked by Politico. Both the tweet and leak were later deleted, setting off an ensascii117ing discascii117ssion of what qascii117alifies as an off-the-record comment when it comes to covering world leaders.