Russia/ Death penalty
DRC/ MONUC
Armenia/ Azerbaijan/ Minsk Group
Middle East/ Settlements
Iran/ Nuclear
Russia/ Death penalty
We welcome the decision by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation which yesterday ruled against the application of the death penalty once the moratorium expires on January 1, 2010.
France, like the EU, reaffirms its long-established opposition to the death penalty everywhere in the world under all circumstances. We encourage Russia to now completely abolish the death penalty.
What is France’s position regarding the Congolese authorities’ demand for a timetable for the withdrawal of MONUC from the DRC?
The renewal of MONUC’s mandate is currently being prepared. A decision on its renewal and conditions is to be made in December in New York.
MONUC must be restructured and this will possibly result in the loss of certain personnel.
We believe that it is however too early to consider MONUC’s withdrawal from the DRC.
Armenia/ Azerbaijan/ Minsk Group
Do you have any further information on the meeting that is scheduled to take place in Munich between the Heads of State of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the mediating countries of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh? Who will represent France? When exactly will it take place? What are the most important points for Paris among the Basic Principles for achieving a successful outcome to these mediation efforts?
At the invitation of the three Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement (the United States, France and Russia), the Heads of State of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet for the sixth time this year at the residence of France’s Consul General in Munich on November 22.
France will be represented at this meeting by Ambassador Bernard Fassier, France’s Co-Chair for the Minsk Group since January 2005.
The Basic Principles for achieving a peaceful, fair and lasting resolution to this conflict were jointly proposed to the parties in Madrid at the end of November 2007 by the French and Russian Foreign Ministers and the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.
In their joint statement on the sidelines of the G8 Summit in L’Aquila in July, the French, American and Russian presidents reaffirmed that these proposals were still on the negotiating table and invited the parties to finalize them as quickly as possible. This statement described the basic elements of the proposals:
- return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control
- an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for security and self-governance
- a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh
- future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will
- the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence and,
- international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation.
The mediators are striving to achieve approval of these proposals by the parties to the conflict.
Bernard Kouchner’s statements on the issue of new settlements in East Jerusalem seem to absolve the Israeli government and Benjamin Netanyahu from any involvement in the decision to build in Gilo. Is that France’s position given that these settlements are in fact illegal in the eyes of the international community?[…]
Does France consider the “freezing of all settlement activities” in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem to be “essential” to the peace negotiations?
I do not share your interpretation of the statements made by Bernard Kouchner yesterday in Jerusalem. They were very clear and do not aim to absolve anyone.
Concerning the settlement activities, we have always reaffirmed that they constitute one of the main obstacles to peace. We believe that there is an urgent need to resume negotiations and it is above all up to the parties to determine if the requirements have been met.
This is the main message that Bernard Kouchner conveyed to all of his meeting partners during his visit to the Middle East.
Iran has asked for a new technical meeting on its nuclear program. Does France agree with participating in such a meeting following Bernard Kouchner’s statement that dialogue was to continue with Tehran?
Yesterday, Iran clearly rejected the draft agreement proposed by Mohamed ElBaradei regarding the supply of fuel to the Tehran research reactor (TRR) by refusing to export the quantity of low-enriched uranium necessary for the production of the fuel.
We will assess the consequences of this political response with our “5+1” partners.
If dialogue is to continue, it will not focus on technical issues.