A senior Israeli government official has said Orange CEO Stephane Richard is due to visit the country by the end of the week, after he ignited a diplomatic row over Orange’s brand licensing agreement with Partner Communications.

According to Reuters, the country’s deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely announced on Israeli army radio that Richard “is supposed to arrive at the end of the week, as far as I know”.

She also said Richard had written a letter of apology to the government over comments last week suggesting he would end Orange’s licencing deal in the country “tomorrow morning” if contracts allowed.

He later apologised for the comments in a press conference, stating: “Orange does not support any form of boycott, in Israel or anywhere else in the world”.

Israel took offence to the remarks, which reportedly fears economic and diplomatic isolation from the western world given its deadlock in peace talks with Palestine.

Orange subsequently refuted claims that Richard’s comments were political, suggesting that an end to its deal with Partner would be “in line with brand strategy development. Orange does not wish to maintain the presence of the brand in countries in which it is not, or is no longer, an operator,” it said in a statement.

This triggered a response from the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said Richard should visit Israel and apologise. He also instructed Israel’s ambassador to France not to accept a meeting with Richard. “If he wants to explain, he can come to Israel and do so,” a source quotes Netanyahu as saying.

On Monday, an Orange spokesperson reportedly welcomed the invitation to clear up the situation, described by the company as a “misunderstanding”.