Bonnet told Bérard to inform General Jordana, the Nationalist Foreign Minister that if General Franco was willing to promise that all German and Italian forces were to be withdrawn after the end of the Spanish Civil War, then Paris would recognize the Nationalists. The major dispute during the talks between Bérard and Jourdana was if the recognition of the Burgos government would be "de jure", as Franco wanted, or "de facto", as Bonnet wanted and if Franco would promise to remain neutral should a Franco-German war occur. However. by February 1939, Bonnet believed that the rapid collapse of the Republican war effort made recognition of the Burgos government imperative if France were to have any hope of having influence with General Franco, and on 28 February 1939, France broke diplomatic relations with the Republican government in Madrid and recognized the Nationalist government in Burgos. Much to the relief of Bonnet, General Franco kept his word about ensuring the withdrawal of Axis forces from Spanish territory, especially the departure of the Italians from the Balearic Islands.