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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.]
GENERAL AFFAIRS/EXTERNAL RELATIONS COUNCIL (April 29)
As Foreign and European Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner said, France welcomes the signing of a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between the European Union and Serbia at the general affairs/external relations council in Luxembourg on April 29. This is an important step towards the country’s closer ties with the European Union.
The council also decided to suspend visa sanctions on Uzbekistan for another six months, considering that the country’s progress on human rights allowed it to send a political signal of encouragement to the country’s authorities. The sanctions as a whole will be a subject of debate in October during the French presidency of the EU.
The council decided to keep the sanctions on Burma, thereby showing that the EU is determined to see the situation with respect to democracy and human rights in the country changed.
Ministers discussed the situation in Zimbabwe and called for the immediate publication of the results in the presidential election, which was held four weeks ago, and for an end to violence.
However, the council was unable to reach agreement on a mandate for negotiations on a new EU/Russia agreement, but France emphasized the importance for the EU of beginning such negotiations with Russia soon.
Lastly, ministers discussed efforts to combat piracy at sea, taking into account the work in progress at the UN Security Council.
MINISTER’S VISIT TO LONDON (May 2)
The minister of foreign and European affairs will attend two meetings in London on May 2:
At the invitation of the Norwegian foreign minister he will take part in the meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) which is coordinating development assistance to the Palestinian Territories.
The meeting follows on the AHLC meeting in New York in September 2007 and the international donors’ conference for the Palestinian state which was held in Paris on December 17, 2007. It will be the occasion to recall the importance for the entire international community of building strong and independent Palestinian institutions. In a situation in which the priority is to facilitate conditions for the movement of people and goods and to support the reforms backed by international aid, participants will also discuss ways of encouraging the parties to ensure the effective implementation of projects on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza.
The minister will also attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Six (China, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, France) given over to the Iranian nuclear issue. In the context of their policy based on one hand on the call for negotiations and on the other, on the use of sanctions in the absence of a positive response from Iran, the Six have decided to again show their willingness to negotiate by presenting Iran with a new offer of cooperation based on the one they presented in 2006.
Q - Can you tell us the positions that will be taken by France at the meetings in London on Iran and the Middle East (Quartet) in the next few days? Do you support new sanctions against Tehran?
I refer you to my statement just now.
Q - What’s your assessment of the Annapolis process at this point?
The time hasn’t come for taking stock. We have confidence in the parties’ capacity to achieve an agreement, in the capacity of the Palestinians to build strong and efficient institutions, and in Israeli’s to help them in this and to withdraw from the occupied territories. It’s essential to succeed.
Q - Will France support the efforts to establish an immediate cease-fire in Gaza as Palestinian militants proposed initially before the Israeli armed attack on Monday provoking cancellation of the Palestinian offer?
France calls for an end to violence. We support all proposals leading to this objective.
Q - Do you support the appointment of a special UN envoy for Zimbabwe as opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is seeking?
We do support it. This question must be handled in liaison with the African Union and the SADC, in particular South Africa which was assigned a mission to mediate several months ago. It’s actually being discussed in the Security Council, and we will be attentive to the opinion of the UN secretary-general. Everything must be done to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe.
Q - Do you have any comment on the criticism of UNIFIL that’s appeared in the Israeli press in the last few days?
France reaffirms it full support for UNIFIL which is carrying out its mandate to the full, in accordance with UNSCR 1701.
Q - Have you seen the new Iranian proposals that were recently handed to a Russian official and which are supposed to unblock the talks with Tehran on the nuclear question?
We’ve not seen them. I’d like to remind you, however, that as part of the offer in 2006, Russia had proposed that Iran have access to nuclear fuel and that this proposal was rejected by the Iranians. Once again we call on Iran to choose the path of dialogue and negotiation by accepting the offer of cooperation from the Six.
(…)./.
Embassy of France, April 30, 2008
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