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Daily Press Briefing Statements made by [Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.] IRAQ
I would like to read the communiqué the Elysée issued today:
“France, like all the democracies, welcomes the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship and is hoping for a swift and effective end to the fighting. “It is now necessary to create the conditions which will give the Iraqi people back their dignity in their new-found freedom. “The urgent task is immediately to get every form of humanitarian aid into Iraq. As soon as possible, after the necessary phase of making the country safe and secure, Iraq must regain, with the legitimacy given by the United Nations, its full sovereignty in a stabilized region.”
I also want to read the statement the foreign minister just made at Sainte Maxime:
“With the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, a dark era is drawing to a close. And we welcome it. “We are at a decisive moment in Iraq’s history, and I want to believe the end of the dictatorship signals a new hope for the Iraqis, a hope of freedom and of development. “I am thinking of the suffering they have endured and are still experiencing through the war. The priority today is to address the urgent humanitarian needs. “I am thinking too of the Arab peoples, their worries and their often mixed feelings of frustration, injustice and humiliation. “I hope the fighting ends as quickly as possible so that Iraq, with the support of the whole international community, can get down to the task of reconstruction with due regard for its unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty. “Together we must now build peace in Iraq and for France this has to mean the United Nations having a central role. Together we must build peace throughout the region, and this can be done only through the determined search for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Q - What’s your view of the legitimacy and legality of an American civil and military administration in Iraq and of the Iraqi government to be put in by the US?
As the French authorities have already stated in the latest declarations, all legitimacy necessarily derives from the United Nations.
Q - France expressed serious reservations, to say the least, over the invasion of Iraq. Are they still valid in light of recent events?
We were confronted in the last few months with the choice of war or peace. Everyone assumed his responsibilities in full conscience. Today there is the choice for peace. France, abiding by its choices, considers for its part that peace is a matter of collective responsibility.
Q - The Iraqi ambassador to the UN, Mohamed Aldouri, has reportedly left New York for Paris. Can you confirm he’s coming to France?
So far as we know, Mohamed Aldouri is only transiting through France.
Q - Is the French ambassador to Baghdad due to return to the Iraqi capital in the next few days?
The head of the French interests section in Iraq left Baghdad for safety reasons. He isn’t scheduled to return in the immediate future.
Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin will meet his Spanish counterpart, Ana Palacio, for a working luncheon in Madrid on Friday, April 11. The ministers will discuss the main international issues, specifically the situation in Iraq. The ministers will also consider European issues such as the institutional future of the European Union and review bilateral cooperation.
The minister will travel to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia from April 11-13. The visit is part of the consultations and regular cooperation we have with these countries and comes at an important time for the region. As the situation in Iraq is evolving and we are concerned about the humanitarian situation of the people, the purpose of the visit is fourfold: - to listen to what our interlocutors have to say about Iraq, the future of the country and of the region in general; - to show our commitment to the principles of international legality and collective responsibility, just as relevant for tomorrow’s post-war situation as they were before; - to reaffirm the urgency of re-launching the initiative on the Palestinian question by early publication of the roadmap; - to maintain political dialogue, which is particularly important at this time and which we value highly, on both international issues and bilateral matters.
The minister will fly to Egypt on Friday, April 11, where he will be received by President Hosni Mubarak and have talks with his counterpart, Ahmed Maher. On Saturday he will give a speech on the Mediterranean world and the Middle East outlining our vision of the region and the future of our relations with it. He then goes to Syria where he will be received by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and will have talks with his Syrian counterpart Farouk al-Shara. Saturday evening he travels to Lebanon where he will be received by President Emile Lahoud, Parliament Speaker Nabil Berri and Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. He will also have talks with his Lebanese counterpart, Mahmoud Hammoud. The minister will end his trip in Saudi Arabia where he will be received by Kind Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah and by his counterpart Prince Saoud Al-Faisal.
Pierre-André Wiltzer, Minister Delegate for Cooperation and Francophony, signed an intergovernmental agreement in Paris on Wednesday, April 9, 2003 with Frank Belfrage, Swedish Ambassador to Paris, whereby the two countries will set up an international working group on world public assets--as announced at the Johannesburg summit--whose mandate will end on December 31, 2005.
The working group will be co-chaired by Ernest Zedillo, former Mexican president and now head of the Center for the Study of Globalization at Yale University in the United States, and Tidjane Thiam, former planning minister in Côte d'Ivoire, who now has responsibilities in the private sector. It will be composed of about 15 prominent individuals who, being drawn from diverse geographic and professional backgrounds (political leaders, academics, and representatives of the private sector and civil society), will represent all the interested parties.
The goals of the working group will be: to advance dialogue on world public assets; to seek to define world public assets and basic regional assets from a practical and political standpoint with a view to sustainable development and the fight against poverty; to analyze the current conditions for production, financing and conservation; to make proposals to improve these conditions; to work openly and transparently by involving all the interested parties; and to prepare a report on specific proposals in terms of political action.
France will help finance the working group.
Q - Is France in favor of a collective solidarity clause among the Europeans? A European arms agency? The establishment of a joint French, Belgian, German and Luxembourg staff starting May 1,2004? An agency to coordinate the military capabilities of these four countries? And the establishment of a quadripartite humanitarian force?
Regarding your first two questions, I refer you to the joint Franco-German contribution to the Convention on the Future of Europe, issued November 21, which addresses these issues among others. For the others, let’s wait for the discussions and conclusions of the summit on April 29.
Q - Is it possible to reach a compromise with Madrid on the distribution of contracts in the Galileo program or can the program be started without Spain’s participation?
As you know, Spain is a historic and dynamic player in European space construction. We understand and appreciate Spain’s wish to be one of the lead nations in the Galileo program. Talks are continuing at this time on the key to dividing out the financing and distributing the Galileo programs. France hopes that the question of signing on to the program will soon be resolved so that the Galileo program can start without further delay./.
Embassy of France, April 10, 2003
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