France / United States
Guantanamo
France / Brazil
France / United States
Bernard Kouchner will receive George Mitchell for a meeting on Sunday, June 14 following the U.S. Special Envoy’s third tour of the Middle East.
This meeting, which comes very soon after Barack Obama’s speech at the University of Cairo on June 4, the importance and symbolic and political implication of which we welcomed, will be an opportunity to identify with George Mitchell the ways in which our two countries can work together to handle the common challenges facing the international community in the Middle East.
France would like to examine ways to restart the Middle East peace process as quickly as possible, since there is an urgent need to do so. It is ready to participate fully in these efforts, in close cooperation with the American administration.
During his visit to Israel, George Mitchell assured Israel of the strong alliance with the United States, and indicated that the United States, like France, for that matter, supported Israel on the issues of security, continued existence, etc. However, he did make one remark that was a little surprising. He talked about the Jewish character of Israel, of the Jewish State. Does France share his point of view of this question, since it’s a slightly thorny issue for the Palestinians who were opposed to the use of this term since a number of Arabs live in Israel?
You know that we have already had an opportunity to answer this question. First of all, we are careful to respect the diversity of Israel’s communities. Secondly, we do not want to prejudge the outcome of something we are hoping to achieve, i.e. a final peace agreement making it possible to clarify certain issues.
As you know, George Mitchell will be returning from Damascus. We will obviously discuss the whole region and all of the issues for which he is responsible. It will be interesting to hear his impressions following this tour.
Contrary to what is sometimes heard, there is a strong convergence of views, as well as close cooperation, between France and the American administration on this issue and many others.
The Americans are talking about normalizing relations with the Arab countries before starting negotiations and achieving a resolution to the problem. What is your position?
Our position is clear: we want to achieve a solution that will allow the two States to co-exist, with the creation of the Palestinian State, living side by side in security and with two viable States. This is France’s position; it is not new.
In addition, we support the Arab Peace Initiative. We support the various texts, in particular the Road Map and the processes that foster peace.
France is paying careful attention to all of these points. We hope that we are being understood. This is one of the reasons why we and the other European countries, in particular, have an extremely close relationship with the Americans in order to advance in this direction.
We will see what conclusions George Mitchell draws from his tour of the region.
You said that France supported the Arab Peace Plan. The Israelis say this plan is good, but not negotiable, and they indicate that they will not discuss the issue relating to the return of refugees. If you support the Arab Peace Plan, how do you adjust your position towards Israel?
The heart of our position is very simple. It is a question of doing everything possible to rapidly bring about the creation of a Palestinian State and thus the co-existence of two viable States, living side by side in peace and security. We believe wholeheartedly that the creation of a Palestinian State is legitimate for the Palestinian people, in line with our vision of international relations, and that it also contains an element of security for Israel. We even hope that the timetable will enable 2009 to be the year of peace and that we can advance very quickly towards the creation of a Palestinian State and a relationship between the two States.
The Arab Peace Plan and its proposals are one of the tools that will allow us to make progress towards achieving this objective.
I note that you no longer mention Annapolis. Is this considered to be a stage that should be quickly forgotten?
No, we are not saying that it should be forgotten. The spirit and achievements of Annapolis are also important tools.
Do you think that the meeting in Annapolis achieved something? If so, can you give us one or two examples?
Yes. We feel that the meeting in Annapolis helped in particular to keep dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis on the agenda. It also helped to mobilize the efforts of the international community on the issue.
Has France been asked to take in other Guantanamo detainees?
This subject is being dealt with confidentially as was the case for Mr. Boumediene. Let me remind you that Mr. Boumediene was the first Guantanamo detainee and foreign national to be welcomed on non-American soil after President Obama’s announcement of the closing of Guantanamo. His arrival went very well. On Monday, a statement will be issued following the conclusion of talks between the United States and Europe. You are familiar with our position. We were always in favor of closing Guantanamo and we welcomed the new U.S. administration’s decision. We were the first country to contribute practically and actively to its closing by taking in a former Guantanamo detainee who, let me point out, was totally cleared of all the charges against him. If other requests are made, and I’m not ruling it out, they will be dealt with confidentially.
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Yesterday, Bernard Kouchner received Celso Amorim, his Brazilian counterpart, for discussions followed by a working dinner. A week after their meeting in Rio de Janeiro during the services paying tribute to the victims of the air disaster of June 1, the two ministers reviewed the cooperation on search operations, the identification of victims, legal proceedings and communication with the families.
Then they took stock of our strategic partnership. They also discussed a certain number of important international issues and, on the global challenges, expressed their resolve to continue working together with a view to the upcoming milestones represented by the G8/14 Summit in Aquila and the Copenhagen Conference.
Bernard Kouchner also invited Celso Amorim to take part in the next Ambassadors’ Conference./.