Situation in Guinea
Resumption of climate change negotiations in Bangkok
Iran/ Nuclear
Roman Polanski
France / Syria
Situation in Guinea
France utterly condemns the army’s violent crackdown against the “Forces Vives de Guinée” during a peaceful demonstration in Conakry.
This bloody crackdown is reported to have killed dozens of demonstrators. Several opposition and civil society leaders are reported to have been injured. We assure the Guinean people of our complete solidarity and extend our condolences to the bereaved.
France calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all those arrested during this demonstration.
France urges the “Conseil National pour la Démocratie et le Développement” (CNDD) (National Council for the Defence of Democracy) to demonstrate responsibility and to listen to the legitimate aspirations of the Guinean people to choose its leaders democratically.
Captain Dadis Camara, the president of the CNDD, freely pledged to the international community that he would not run in the 2010 presidential elections; his compliance with this commitment is likely to restore peace.
France is consulting with its partners in the European Union and the International Contact Group on Guinea in order to rapidly assess the implications of these events.
Do you have any information on the scope of the events on the ground, the violent crackdown of the demonstration? Will France encourage any action by the African Union, for example sanctions against Guinea, or is it going to take action against the military junta in power?
The information is not clear and we are trying to get a more exact idea of the death toll from yesterday’s crackdown. We are working in two ways:
- The protection of the French community on the ground; our embassy is fully mobilized under the leadership of our ambassador, Mr. Berrit, and all of our compatriots are receiving real-time updates on all safety advice.
- We are in contact with our European partners, the International Contact Group on Guinea, and of course many African countries to find the best way to swiftly end this crackdown. We are not ruling out any options at the national level.
Resumption of climate change negotiations in Bangkok
You will have noted that for some time now we have been focusing a lot of attention on the issue of climate change and we will continue to do so. It is a serious and urgent issue and Copenhagen represents a key stage in the process that we must take seriously.
We talked about Bernard Kouchner’s personal commitment when, together with his British, Swedish and Danish colleagues, he led a public debate here at the Sciences-Po institute. He was in Copenhagen a few days later to stress the urgent need for a positive outcome to the Copenhagen Summit in December. You also heard the President of the Republic’s statements at the UN General Assembly during the Special Summit on Climate Change.
Within this context, I would like to say a few words concerning the important conference that is currently taking place in Bangkok.
Climate change negotiations resumed on Monday in Bangkok and will finish on October 9. This important working session is taking place to prepare for the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change in December.
France is represented by an interministerial delegation led by Brice Lalonde, the Ambassador responsible for Climate Negotiations, and by Laurence Tubiana, Director of Global Public Goods within the Directorate-General for Globalization at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
More than 2,500 government delegates, representatives from industry, experts from environmental organizations and research institutions are coming together for a very important work session to prepare for the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change in December.
The objectives of these negotiations were set by the Heads of State and Government in New York and Pittsburgh and are ambitious:
1. To achieve a comprehensive text that incorporates measures that are operational and effective;
2. To focus efforts on each of the major components of the talks: widespread use of a low-carbon economic model, support for the most vulnerable countries to adapt to climate change, differentiated emissions reduction objectives, increased financial resources and technical cooperation, adoption of an effective system of controlling the future agreement.
France’s objective, reaffirmed by the President of the Republic in New York at the Climate Change Summit on September 22, is to achieve a global and ambitious agreement on climate change in Copenhagen, the urgent need for which was reaffirmed by the UN Secretary-General, to limit the average increase in temperature of the earth’s surface to + 2˚C compared with the pre-industrial level, representing a global objective of a reduction in global greenhouse gases of 50% by 2050.
The European Union made commitments to meet these challenges by developing, under the French presidency, a regulatory framework that included the adoption of the “energy/climate” package. Bernard Kouchner and his British, Danish, Finnish and Swedish counterparts have initiated efforts to increase public awareness in order to achieve an ambitious agreement on the future regime to combat greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts will continue until December.
France is leading the way at the European and international level regarding certain key issues:
- with regard to forests, it is proposing support programs in the main regions concerned (Amazon region, Congo Basin, Indonesia) and specific financing mechanisms to combat deforestation and, more generally, to preserve carbon stocks.
- regarding financing, it advocates an international architecture based on the reformed Global Environment Facility.
The last session of technical negotiations will take place in Barcelona from November 4 to 6, a few weeks ahead of the Copenhagen Conference.
In addition, I would like to remind you of the objectives that we are setting with regard to this issue and France’s contribution to the efforts that are currently in progress. In terms of results, we are expecting a much more comprehensive and operational report. This is one of the elements of the work currently being carried out.
Secondly, concerning the objectives to be achieved and the measures implemented to achieve them, i.e. limiting the increase in the earth’s temperature to no more than two degrees. This is an objective that is particularly important to us but it is clear that we are not alone and that we need to work hard. It is not easy and we are aware that there are a number of obstacles to achieving our goals in Copenhagen. We know that, given the urgency, we must mobilize our efforts to remove these obstacles.
The President of the Republic proposed holding a summit before Copenhagen. Is there anything new?
The President of the Republic made this proposal last week. It is currently being discussed and implemented. We will tell you about it quite soon.
It is in fact a plan that was proposed by President Sarkozy and that we will, of course, focus on implementing.
France is insisting that Iran comply with its international obligations regarding the nuclear issue. If Iran does not comply with these obligations, there will clearly be a French demand, a substantial hardening of sanctions against Iran. However, we do not know what a “hardening of sanctions” means. There is talk of refined petroleum products, etc.
Before talking about the substantial hardening of sanctions we should go back over the guidelines of the debate. There are obligations relating to international law that apply to everyone. I am thinking in particular of the Security Council resolutions and the IAEA operating procedures. Iran has not complied with its legal obligations for years, is not responding to the IAEA’s questions and is not responding to the offers of dialogue extended by the “E3+3” Group concerning the nuclear issue. We are waiting for responses.
We are therefore expecting responses to be given to these questions at the meeting that is due to take place on October 1 in Geneva. There, we will see how the Iranians are going to engage in this dialogue that we have been calling for for so long and regarding which we are expecting responses from the Iranians.
Concerning the sanctions, please refer to the comments made by Bernard Kouchner yesterday. He talked to the media twice yesterday – on France Inter in the morning then on Canal Plus in the evening. Obviously I do not have much to add to that. Merely, what I note regarding the sanctions is that many resolutions have already been adopted with regard to the Iranian issue, including three that involved sanctions. This is where we are now. What is the next step? For us it is to focus on the October 1 meeting. The Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs will represent France at the meeting.
Is the meeting in Geneva scheduled to take place over one or several days?
I think that it will just take place on Thursday. However, I do not know yet when the meeting will start. We will know very soon and we will let you know.
Do you think that the stakes are higher following Friday’s announcement concerning the existence of a second enrichment site? What is at stake this time? What is the difference between Thursday’s meeting and the one that took place last year?
That is a relevant question. The stakes are the same; it is about getting responses to the questions and having real dialogue with the Iranians on these issues.
Last week’s announcement only serves to confirm the doubts and the questions that we had regarding Iran’s nuclear activities. It makes it all the more necessary to engage in dialogue on these issues as soon as possible.
Do all the members of the “E3+3” Group agree on the date of the ultimatum given to Iran. i.e. the end of the year, to provide the required responses? What could happen after this date? There is talk of new sanctions.
Concerning the first part of your question, you should ask the other members of the “E3+3” Group. Regarding what will happen at the beginning of next year, I think that many things will depend on the outcome of the meeting in Geneva. We are waiting for this meeting. We have all the information about the issue. All of the elements are on the table.
Does the French executive speak with one voice regarding the scope and nature of these sanctions?
As a general rule, France has a single position on all issues and regarding all aspects of this problem; that is the case for this issue.
Concerning Iran’s revelation of a second uranium enrichment plant, which took everyone by surprise, how do you describe this act? Is it a public relations exercise to demonstrate Iran’s so-called transparency concerning its activities? Or do you see it as further proof that we cannot trust this regime?
We would have to ask them the question in order to know why now and not before. Nuclear enrichment plants are not like mushrooms; they don’t just come out of the ground after a downpour. In any case, the distrust is there and only serious answers from Iran can remove it.
Regarding the matter of knowing why now and not before, did France know about the existence of this enrichment facility?
Please refer to Bernard Kouchner’s response to this question yesterday.
The Iranians said that they did not have any legal obligation to declare the construction of this enrichment plant, only to declare it a few months before it is put into operation. Can you clarify this point? Was there a legal obligation under the NPT or additional agreements?
We would have to review the texts, but I think that there is in fact a legal obligation to declare the facility before construction. The other obligation was to respond to the questions that the IAEA asked of Iran a long time ago. IAEA asked these questions some time ago and we are still waiting in vain for Iran’s response.
Bernard Kouchner sent Hillary Clinton a letter. What can you tell us about that? What does France plan to do now to intervene?
I can indeed confirm that the letter signed by Bernard Kouchner and the Polish foreign minister, Mr. Sikorski, was sent to Washington, to their colleague Hillary Clinton.
I can also confirm today that on Sunday, we asked the Swiss authorities to exercise our right to a consular visit, as guaranteed by the Geneva Convention on Consular Relations, and that our consul-general in Geneva did indeed see Mr. Polanski yesterday.
Can you tell us if Ms. Clinton responded to the letter, and if the consul will be meeting with Mr. Polanski today?
I have no information on Ms. Clinton’s reply, you have to ask my American colleague. As for the right to a consular visit, our consul-general in Zurich will be available to pay other visits to Mr. Polanski.
[…]
We will follow the legal developments in this case. We will inform you in real time if we have new information on the subject.
[…]
Is a press conference scheduled following Mr. al-Moallem’s visit to Paris? Can you give us further details on this visit?
I can confirm that at 8:00 this evening, the two ministers will give a press briefing following their meeting and before a working dinner.
I haven’t seen a reaction or communiqué from the Quai d’Orsay concerning the Israeli army’s attack on the al-Aqsa Mosque.
We are still working on this issue in order to try and reinforce a positive, favorable dynamic promoting negotiation and dialogue. Last week in New York, there was an important meeting between Mr. Obama, Mr. Abbas and Mr. Netanyahu, and we must redouble our efforts to continue working to this end. You are familiar with France’s proposals, and we are continuing to work to this end.
[…].