I reacted when I read this as well. I am hoping he meant that he would recommend that paper to be published/not published...
...I fear however that my hopes are in vain
...I fear however that my hopes are in vain
I've had many paper rejections, none because of false or uninteresting claims but almost all because "it's not good enough for this prestige journal" or "it's too specialized for this journal". I expect a certain number of those, because I submit to reach journals now and then and hope I get a reviewer and editor that like the work :) If I wanted certain publication immediately I'd submit to lower-tier journals first, which I have also done when I just needed something out.