Daily Press Briefing
Statements made by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson
(excerpts)
(Paris, December 7, 2006)
[Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.]
FRANCE/PHILIPPINES/ASEAN
Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy will travel to Cebu in the Philippines on December 11 to take part in the ceremony marking France’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
France’s accession, announced by President Chirac during his state visit to Thailand in February 2006, where the Association of Southeast Nations came into being in 1967, reflects our wish for our country to be more involved in southeast Asia. France has long-standing, strong ties of friendship with southeast Asia. It wishes to be involved in the political and economic development of this particularly vibrant region and to promote its integration into a broader continent-wide whole.
France is the first European country to join the Treaty. It is pleased that the European Union has begun the same action.
The minister will be received on the sidelines of the ceremony by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines, whose country currently holds the presidency of ASEAN. Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy will also have talks with some of his counterparts from ASEAN member states, including Philippines Foreign Minister Alberto Romulo and Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda.
(…)
France paid close attention to the municipal and legislative elections which took place in Mauritania on November 19 and December 3. The elections are part of a democratic transition process supported by France and the European Union.
France hails the conditions in which these elections took place. The satisfactory physical organization and transparency of the voting operations allowed Mauritanians to choose their legislators and municipal councilors in a situation of calm. We took note of the high turn-out in both rounds of the elections. We welcome the entry of 17 women into the new parliament.
The voting marks an important step in the democratic transition process which is to conclude with presidential elections on March 11 and 25, 2007.
(…)
Q - Rwandan President Paul Kagame has accused Dominique de Villepin of being among the French officials who supported the genocide. Do you have any comment?
Let me remind you that after the Rwandan crisis, France endeavored to shed full light on the tragic events that occurred in April 1994. That was the purpose of the parliamentary fact-finding mission led by Mr. Quilès.
The findings of this mission, delivered in 1998, recall that France worked actively to mobilize the international community in order to assist the victims of the genocide. In no way was it associated either closely or indirectly in the preparation or perpetration of the genocide.
The allegations you report are groundless.
Q - The Baker report recommends “direct talks” with Syria concerning Iraq and other regional problems. 1) Is France worried that its policy in Lebanon will suffer as a result? 2) Have you got guarantees from the Americans concerning the international tribunal and the Hariri investigation? 3/) Is it possible for France to continue to refuse all high-level contact with Damascus?
I will read a statement by Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy in reaction to the Baker-Hamilton report:
“The report by the Baker-Hamilton commission is clear-sighted. It reflects, from our point of view, the state of affairs in Iraq.
“As France has said all along, there is no military solution to the deep crisis that Iraq is experiencing.
“I note that the report does not set a precise timetable for withdrawal but a prospect of it. That is also what we say. The goal is still for the Iraqis to be able to recover their full sovereignty. To prevent the withdrawal from bringing chaos, it absolutely must be based on a political process that will rally all Iraqis behind it and isolate the extremists and terrorists.
“With regard to the proposal for direct talks with Syria and Iran, we have frequently stressed that it was necessary to involve all the countries in the region once they showed a wish to contribute to Iraq’s stability.
“Lastly, I share the appeal made to the United States to fully involve itself in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which would restore some room for maneuver in order to settle the other crises in the region.”
With regard to the specific questions you’re asking, we will now have to see what the administration takes on board from the report.
With regard to Lebanon, the Lebanese and Israeli questions are separate and are treated as such. We are working in the UN Security Council with all member states, including the United States, which share the same objectives for the implementation of resolutions 1559, 1595 and 1701.
Q - Several EU countries are recommending closer ties to Serbia quickly and warning against the risks of leaving the European country isolated over time. Is France still against closer ties (negotiations on a stabilization and association agreement) until Mladic and Karadzic are handed over?
France is committed to the European prospects of Serbia and the western Balkans in general. As you know, it was under French presidency that this prospect was first floated at the Zagreb summit in October 2000.
The EU has not brought this commitment into question as can be seen from the important stages reached last year, especially for Serbia, with the opening of negotiations on a stabilization and association agreement (SAA) on October 3, 2005.
The European prospect for the Balkan countries also presupposes that they make progress towards reforms and meet the requisite conditions, particularly that of full and complete cooperation with the ICTY. As you know, Carla del Ponte, chief prosecutor for the ICTY, is not satisfied with Serbia’s cooperation.
As Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said in Brussels on December 4, “It is very important for us that Serbia cooperate fully and transparently with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.”
This is the condition, on which Ms del Ponte’s assessment will be key, for resuming negotiations on the stabilization and association agreement.
Q - Is France contemplating the continuation of negotiations between Serbia and the European Union? Are you going to propose this possibility at the EU council of ministers next week? Under what conditions?
I refer you to my previous response which recalls our position on this question. The situation in the western Balkans is scheduled to be discussed at the general affairs/external relations council on Monday.
Q - Turkey, faced with the threat of its EU accession negotiations being suspended, has proposed opening a port and an airport to Greek Cypriot ships and planes for a year, the time to find a comprehensive solution to Cyprus. What’s your reaction? Is this gesture enough, do you think?
We’ve taken note of the information given by the Finnish presidency.
We are waiting for confirmation from the Turkish authorities and for details on the scope of this possible gesture.
The question of accession negotiations with Turkey and especially the examination of the recommendations made by the Commission will be addressed at the next general affairs/external relations council which is to be held in Brussels on December 11.
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Q - Le Monde reports in its Friday December 8 issue “the constant and massive rearmament of Hezbollah,” mainly from Iran (according to a high-level UN source). Do you know about such smuggling?
In the UN secretary-general’s report on the implementation of resolution 1701, which has been sent to the president of the UN Security Council and will be discussed in the Security Council on Monday, December 11, the secretary-general reports information on the movement of arms on the Syrian-Lebanese border. But the report specifies that it has not been possible to check these reports. We continue to pay close attention to this question of monitoring the arms embargo and are thinking about ways to strengthen verification.
In south Lebanon the Lebanese army, with UNIFIL’s help, is also continuing its action to make the area between the Litani river and the border weapons free, as requested in resolution 1701.
Q - In the wake of the Baker report, the Israeli prime minister has rejected any negotiation with Syria. What’s your reaction? Was the issue of Syrian-Israeli talks discussed with Ms Livni yesterday?
Concerning our reaction to the Baker-Hamilton report, I refer you to my previous response.
So far as I know, the issue you mention was not discussed during the talks Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy had with his Israeli counterpart, Ms Livni./.
Embassy of France, December 7, 2006