GEORGIA / INTERNATIONAL TALKS IN GENEVA
FRANCE / SAUDI ARABIA / YEMEN
FRANCE / GERMANY
GEORGIA / INTERNATIONAL TALKS IN GENEVA
A new round of international talks in Geneva, provided by the agreements of August 12 and September 8, and co-chaired by the EU, the UN, and the OSCE, took place on February 17 and 18. All the parties participated.
On the occasion of this fourth meeting, France welcomes the adoption of the joint incident prevention and response mechanisms that must now be implemented concretely on the ground.
This is a useful milestone on the path for a return to stability and security in the region.
The talks also covered the situation of displaced persons and refugees.
We call on all parties to continue work in a constructive spirit and on the basis of proposals by the co-presidents, in order to improve conditions for the people of South Ossetia and to permit full humanitarian access to the region.
We hope that the international talks in Geneva will continue as soon as possible.
Can you give us an outline of the Minister’s visit to Yemen and Saudi Arabia?
Bernard Kouchner will be in Yemen and Saudi Arabia on February 21 and 22.
On February 21 in Yemen, he will meet with the Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi and President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who visited France in 2007.
France attaches particular importance to the stability and development of Yemen, a country integrated into the Priority Solidarity Zone in 2002, and with which we have close ties regarding security and the fight against piracy. Trade between France and Yemen grew considerably in the past two years because of a strong increase in our export volume. Our investments have also increased sharply since 2005.
Bernard Kouchner will then go to Saudi Arabia, specifically to meet with his counterpart Prince Saud Al Faisal, Commerce Minister Abdullah Zainal Alireza, and Prince Muqrin Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
This visit follows President Sarkozy’s trips to Riyad on January 13 and 14, 2008, and to Jeddah on November 29. The visit will allow for the continuation of regular dialogue between the two countries on regional subjects, and will provide an opportunity, after the President’s trip to the Gulf, to discuss major regional subjects, including the peace process and the situation in Gaza, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Darfur, and the Iranian nuclear issue, as well as the financial crisis and the next G20 Summit.
On a bilateral level, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs confirms France’s willingness to develop our cooperation in all areas, in particular those relating to job training and culture.
On the occasion of this visit, Bernard Kouchner will affirm our view of relations between France and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, which we see in a global context, and also our willingness to strengthen our specific partnership with these countries, based on trust, friendship, and the shared desire for a lasting peace in the Middle East.
Last year, the Minister had called for an acknowledgement of children born during the Second World War to a French mother and a German soldier. Where do you stand on this issue?
During a speech on April 24, 2008, at Humboldt University in Berlin, Bernard Kouchner emphasized the sensitivity of this painful subject, speaking about “the lot of these children who, now as adults, ask for acknowledgement of their misfortune, their life, and their identity.” He had expressed his wish that a solution be found in accordance with the spirit of French-German reconciliation.
Since then, we have addressed the subject several times with our German partners and with the concerned ministers in France and in Germany, working to assemble the legal tools apt to bring an appropriate resolution to the matter, notably with regard to the access of origins and the obtaining of dual citizenship.
[…]/.