Daily Press Briefing
Statements made by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson
(excerpts)
(Paris, December 11, 2006)
[Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.]
RUSSIA
I will read the statement made December 9 by Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy following the fire at a Moscow hospital:
“I was horrified to learn of the fire that claimed the lives of several dozen people at a drug treatment center in Moscow in the night of Friday to Saturday. I was even more shocked to learn that the investigators at this stage suspect a criminal act.
“I offer my sincerest condolences to the victims’ families at this painful time and extend to the injured and their families my deepest sympathy and best wishes for a speedy recovery.
“I would also like to express to the Russian authorities the solidarity of France and its government, and assure them that our country is ready to provide any assistance they might need.”
I will read the statement made December 10 by Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy:
“I learned with concern about the upcoming ‘conference on the Holocaust’ in Tehran on December 11 and 12. If the aim were to propagate denial and revisionist ideas, France could only condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
I give you the following statement from by Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy:
“With the death of Augusto Pinochet, Chile turns permanently a particularly dark page in its history.
“France regrets that he died without having accounted for his acts in a court of law.
“We think with emotion of the victims of the Augusto Pinochet regime, their families and loved ones.
“Other judicial procedures targeting officials of Chile’s military dictatorship are continuing.
“France hopes their outcome will contribute to the establishment of the truth light.”
European Affairs Minister Delegate Catherine Colonna will have talks with Renato Ruggiero, adviser to President Romano Prodi and former Italian foreign minister, on Tuesday December 12, at 5.30 p.m. at the Quai d’Orsay.
The meeting will focus on preparations for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Rome Treaty on March 25.
FOOD CRISIS-PREVENTION IN THE SAHEL
The Food Crisis Prevention Network in the Sahel, which groups the nine permanent members of the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel and the main OECD donors, including France, is holding its next meeting in Rome on December 12 and 13. The objective is to review the food situation in the region and identify the risks of crises.
Although there were good harvests in 2006 for the second year in a row, France continues to be mobilized for food crisis prevention and action to address the chronic malnutrition in the region. In 2006 we supported the reconstitution of national security food stocks in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso (over 3 million euros) and nutritional programs targeted to women and children in Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad (2.5 million euros). France also participated in strengthening the early warning systems for following up the nutritional situation of the most vulnerable populations in Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Children’s Fund, France applauds the action of UNICEF and its executive director, Ann Veneman, who heads the UN program. Since the end of the World War II, UNICEF has helped improved the lives of several generations of children around the world.
France, a founding and active members of UNICEF, works every day with the program. It is one of the main contributors (14.3 million euros, i.e. an increase of nearly 35% in two years).
Our country is a member of the UNICEF executive board. The French UNICEF committee, chaired by Jacques Hinty, is also one of the leading national committees.
France is working with UNICEF on five main priorities: HIV/AIDS, vaccination, the education of girls, early childhood, and the protection of children at risk. A conference on childhood and AIDS was jointly organized in Paris in June 2006. Our country is also financing a 700,000-euro bi-multilateral program for AIDS orphans in Africa.
In the spirit of this close cooperation, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman are holding an international political conference in Paris on February 5 and 6, 2007, at ministerial level, entitled, “Let us free the children of war.” The conference will focus on the phenomenon of child soldiers and the objectives and means to be employed to combat this scourge and promote the reintegration of these children into their society.
Q - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed the new draft resolution on Iran on Monday, saying it took on board “Russian proposals.” Can you confirm that the text still provides for individual sanctions and that Moscow has therefore yielded on this key point? Should the draft resolution now be passed quickly?
We have taken note of Mr. Lavrov’s positive statements about the draft resolution put forward by the three Europeans on the Iranian nuclear issue.
As you know, at the last meeting of political directors held in Paris on December 5, we made substantial progress on the scope of the sanctions by targeting proliferation-sensitive activities.
At this stage the draft has still not been presented to the Security Council, and it would be premature at this point when negotiations are still taking place to address it in detail.
Our objective is to see the project adopted without further delay.
Q - The Arab League secretary-general’s special envoy announced that Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah had accepted the Arab League’s proposals for a way out of the crisis. Is France ready to support an initiative giving the Lebanese opposition a right of veto in the national unity government?
At this stage we’ve no confirmation of an agreement on the basis of proposals from the Arab League secretary-general.
As you know, we support the efforts to resolve the political crisis in Lebanon. We have taken note of the announcement of Mr. Moussa’s visit to Beirut tomorrow and that today of his special representative. We will of course be following the developments with the closet attention./.
Embassy of France, December 11, 2006