Middle East …

Statements made by Mr Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, during his joint press briefing with Mr Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority (Paris, 29 June 2007)

Ladies and gentlemen, I have the great honour and great pleasure to welcome my friend the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Mahmoud Abbas.

It's a very singular time the Palestinian people are living through.  It's a time of chaos, sadness, and, often, despair.  This afternoon the President of the Palestinian Authority, i.e. the legitimate expression of the Palestinian people, has had a meeting with President Sarkozy.  President Sarkozy has spoken to the press and certainly told you that the President of the Palestinian Authority had the firm support of the French government and people.

We are absolutely clearly supporting Mr Mahmoud Abbas.  We said this immediately after the grim events in Gaza.  President Sarkozy telephoned Mr Mahmoud Abbas.  We have supported him politically, economically and in a spirit of great fraternity.  We are going to go on doing so and, to be very clear and very direct, we think these sad events provide the opportunity for a return to a hope of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. (…)

You say that this is the moment to strengthen the peace process.  What can France do to assist its reactivation?

First of all, France can hear what has just been said and make a distinction between those using murder and crime for political ends and the proponents of peace. She has just demonstrated this in full view of the world.  France can talk, France can convince.  I think that France is, genuinely, the friend of the Israeli people and the friend of the Palestinian people; and this isn't new, we've been saying it for over 25 years.

Those present here are our friends and the Israelis also know they can count on us. But our Palestinian and Israeli friends are fully aware that the solution is to return to the peace process. Everything has been done [for this], particularly in Geneva but also in many other places, with Saudi Arabia's [peace] proposal and everything the President of the Palestinian Authority has said.

We know one meeting isn't enough. For the Palestinians, for the Palestinian people to be convinced, they need evidence. They must be able to breathe a bit more freely in the Occupied Territories.

There must be hope of a political process.  Just now, President Abbas was talking about an international force in Gaza?  Why not?  We can think about this, of course, but it will never replace the political process.

On one side there are those who want peace and, on the other, those who want "to murder".

Let's try to resume the dialogue between those in favour of peace.  Let the others join in.  I'm not conflating Hamas with the Palestinian people.  There are people suffering in Gaza. There are people in prison in Gaza and, quite obviously, we must pay attention to them.  But, politically, we are on the side of the Palestinian Authority, which is the only body representing the Palestinian people. (…)

Statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson ( Paris, 2 July 2007)

Does France support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ proposal for international troops to be deployed in Gaza? Do you think Hamas should be part of the political process in the Palestinian Territories?

With regard to the international force, France considers that it is up to the parties to make clear their expectations and to agree among themselves. As Foreign and European Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday at his press briefing with the president of the Palestinian Authority, we are ready to consider it but ‘this will never replace the political process.’

With regard to your question about Hamas, the conditions laid down by the Quartet still apply: recognition of Israel, rejection of violence and acceptance of the peace agreements signed with the PLO.

Statement mabe by Mr Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, following the realease of Mr Alan Johnston ( Paris, 4 July 2007)

I am delighted by the release of the BBC journalist, Mr Alan Johnston, after 113 days of captivity in the Gaza Strip, who is at last going to be able to return to his family and friends.

All journalists must be able to do their jobs freely and safe from any threat.

This favourable outcome must encourage all the parties to commit to creating a climate conducive to the resumption of the peace negotiations which I so much want to see.

Lebanon …

Daily press briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson ( Paris, 6 July 2007)

An inter-Lebanese meeting will be held at the Château de la Celle Saint-Cloud on July 14, 15 and 16. The meeting will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and will end on Monday, July 16, at 10 a.m. with a press conference.

It will bring together representatives of the political forces involved in Lebanon’s national dialogue and civil society.

The discussions, under the impetus of the minister, will focus on the need to strengthen the Lebanese state.

The event is not a regional or international conference, nor is it a session of national dialogue modeled on the one started in 2006 even though the groups invited are the same.

Statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson ( Paris, 2 July 2007)

Could we have your reactions to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on the implementation of resolution 1701 on Lebanon?

We are examining this report with our partners with a view to consultations in the Security Council in the middle of July.

We share the secretary-general’s opinion that any movement towards a long-term solution requires progress on the key questions, specifically the release of the Israeli soldiers and Lebanese prisoners, strict compliance with the arms embargo, halting Israeli overflights, and settlement of the Shebaa Farms issue.

We are paying particularly close attention to violations of the arms embargo. We think it is imperative to tighten controls at the Syrian-Lebanese border, based on the recommendations made by the independent evaluation mission.

Afghanistan …

Statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson ( Paris, 5 July 2007)

We are saddened at the announcement of the deaths in Afghanistan yesterday of six Canadian soldiers and their Afghan interpreter.

President Sarkozy immediately offered his condolences to the Governor General of Canada, and the minister his condolences to his Canadian counterpart, requesting that they be conveyed to the victims’ families.

In the letters they sent to their counterparts, the president and the minister paid strong tribute to the Canadian contingent of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and assured them of France’s support and solidarity.

Foreign and European Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner also expresses his profound sadness at the number of Afghan civilian victims in recent air strikes.