… France / United-States
Statement by the Spokesperson the following the meeting between M. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the Republic, and Ms Condoleeza Rice, United States Secretary of State (Paris, 25 June 2007)
On Afghanistan, President Sarkozy confirmed to Ms Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State, our commitment on the ground, while at the same time proposing discussions on long-term strategy.
On Kosovo, he said again that in his view independence was ineluctable, but that it was necessary to try and overcome the divisions at the Security Council. This is what totally underpins our efforts in New York on the basis of what Nicolas Sarkozy had proposed at the G8, i.e. a delay to allow the relaunch of negotiations between Kosovars and Serbs.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they took stock of the situation and stressed the need to help President Abbas. On Iran, he reiterated to Ms Rice that the Security Council has to be united on a position of firmness in the quest for a diplomatic solution.
He repeated to Ms Rice the huge importance he attached to the United States taking the lead in the fight against global warming.
They of course talked about the issue of Darfur which will be dealt with in depth over the course of the day.
On the WTO, he reiterated that the time of naivety had ended.
On Lebanon, he repeated that France's objectives hadn't varied: an independent Lebanon, rid of foreign interference.
President Sarkozy reiterated to Ms Rice that his objectives were unchanged and that we shared them./.
… Lebanon
Statement by Mr Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs (Paris, 24 June 2007)
I have just learned that several Spanish soldiers with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have been killed in an explosion and others wounded.
On behalf of France, I express my deepest shock and condemn in very strong terms this act which targets UNIFIL and seriously undermines the process of stabilization in southern Lebanon.
We wish, with the international community and in liaison with the Lebanese authorities, to see the perpetrators of this heinous act identified, found and punished.
On behalf of President Sarkozy, I offer the condolences of the French people and authorities to the victims' families, to His Majesty the King of Spain, the government of José Luis Zapatero and the Spanish people./.
Joint press conference given by Mr Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and Ms Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State (Paris, 24 June 2007)
(…)
Q. – You said on the plane that you will ask the people who talk to Syria to address a strong message because of Syria's intervention in Lebanon. Could you really specify concretely what a "strong message'' to Syria means? And if you allow me, how a divided Lebanon can survive the intervention of Syria day to day?
We are not unaware of Syria's role in Lebanon. On the contrary, I have stressed the degree to which French and US determination, three years ago, was instrumental in the Syrian troops' withdrawal from Lebanese territory. There would not, however, have been that Franco-US determination had there not been the determination of the Lebanese after Prime Minister Hariri's assassination.
(…) It's a very complex situation. There's Syria's influence, negative most of the time. There's no question of resuming the dialogue with Syria if that country doesn't give concrete proof of her participation in the peace movement. To be brief, what we have proposed with this Paris meeting has nothing to do with that. What we have proposed is simply that France bring together on her territory representatives of all the Lebanese communities. We're doing this with the agreement of Prime Minister Siniora, whom we continue to support.
In fact, on Tuesday Mr Siniora is coming to lunch with President Sarkozy and I'll be present, to signal clearly that we support the 14 March Movement. This is quite clear.
Lebanon is a country very close to our hearts. The French have been important there and still are. Since everyone – after the United Nations resolution which we, France and the United States, obtained together and which set up a tribunal to seek and try the murderers of Prime Minister Hariri – is talking about national dialogue and a national unity government, the least we could do was, very informally, without preliminary or final documents, to try and get all the communities to come and talk to each other in France. (…)
Communiqué issued by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Paris, 27 June 2007)
This afternoon, M. Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, had a meeting with the Lebanese Prime Minister, Mr Fouad Siniora. During the meeting, the Minister reaffirmed France's total support for Mr Siniora and the Lebanese Government.
M. Kouchner reiterated France's commitment to Lebanon's independence, sovereignty and stability.
He reaffirmed that we are ready to host an informal meeting designed to encourage dialogue between all the Lebanese parties. It was agreed that the preparation of this meeting would be pursued over the next few days./.
… Middle East
Communiqué issued by the Presidency of the Republic following Tony Blair’s appointment at the Quartet’s special envoy for the Middle-East (Paris, 27 June 2007)
President Sarkozy welcomes Tony Blair's appointment as the Quartet's special envoy in the Middle East.
His qualities as a statesman and knowledge of the region will be critically important for working alongside the Palestinians in the process of strengthening their institutions and enabling them to find their way back to the path of peace and reform.
President Sarkozy extends to Tony Blair his best wishes for success in this new and difficult mission./.
Darfur
Statements made by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Spokesperson (Paris, 26 June 2007)
I want to give you the main conclusions of the ministerial meeting of the enlarged Contact Group on Darfur which was held in Paris yesterday.
The meeting affirmed the unity of the international community in the efforts to resolve the crisis in Darfur. May I remind you that 17 countries, including the United States, China and Russia, plus several regional and international organizations, notably the UN, were represented at a high level.
1-A consensus was reached on giving priority to a political solution brokered jointly by the African Union and the UN. The roadmap now has to be implemented, and this requires the effort of everyone: Sudanese authorities and rebel movements, co-mediators, regional actors and the international community as a whole, which will have to take adequate measures, in the framework of the UN Security Council, against those who refuse to negotiate in the conditions of the roadmap.
2-Participants made a convergent analysis of the cause and effect between the humanitarian emergency and the security emergency in Darfur. A consensus was reached on four areas for action to improve the lot of populations:
- accelerated deployment of UN reinforcements to AMIS;
- reflecting the agreement on the AU/UN hybrid operation in a new Security Council resolution;
- continued support to AMIS: the entire international community must shoulder its responsibility and increase its contribution to the AMIS budget. France for its part will be making an additional contribution of 10 million euros as President Sarkozy announced yesterday;
- lastly, the enlarged Contact Group invited all the parties to respect the cease-fire.
3-The regional situation was also discussed as the emergency also concerns eastern Chad and the northern part of the Central African Republic where there are many refugees and displaced persons and where the violence is continuing.
France is engaged in a major operation in support of humanitarian operation in Chad, organizing an air bridge to help the World Food Program in particular. Other countries, such as Spain, confirmed their willingness to add to the effectiveness of this measure.
As an agreement of the Chadian authorities is emerging in favor of international intervention, we are continuing to work with Chad, the UN and the EU on the preparation of an operation to secure the areas of Chad most affected by the Darfur crisis. There was also the wish that a positive response should be given to the request by the authorities of the Central African Republic for an international presence in the northeast of the country.
4-The participants also expressed their commitment to ensuring, when the time comes, wide support for the reconstruction and development of Darfur and areas affected by the crisis, in Chad and the Central African Republic.
5-Lastly they noted that full and complete implementation of the North-South peace agreement signed in January 2005 in Nairobi was a condition for peace in Darfur.
6-As he announced at the press conference, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner will brief African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare on the results of yesterday’s meeting and confer with him on future stages. A working group of the enlarged Contact Group on Darfur could be held, again at ministerial level, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September.
Q – President Sarkozy has announced an additional contribution of 10 million euros. What was the initial contribution?
First, remember that there is a big EU contribution to AMIS, the African force. I believe initially, the contribution was 242 million euros, to which were added recently a further 40 million euros. This means that the EU has made or is making a contribution of nearly 280 million euros to AMIS. Of these 280 million, France pays nearly a quarter. The money comes from the European Development Fund, about 25% financed by France.
With regard to our aid, if you include bilateral aid and our contribution through the EU, since the beginning of the crisis we estimate the French effort at 145 million euros.
The 10 million the president announced yesterday is extra. So we are contributing, and are willing to contribute more. The important thing is also how the money is used and being certain that the money does go to the African force. This is one of the points that was discussed by ministers. There needs to be transparency and good management of funds so we can be sure the money is used where it is needed.
… World Bank
Statements made by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Spokesperson (Paris, 26 June 2007)
I welcome the appointment of Robert Zoellick as president of the World Bank. I offer my warmest congratulations to the new president of the World Bank who will take up his office for a five-year term on July 1.
Mr. Zoellick has the international experience and requisite qualities for consolidating the credibility and effectiveness of an institution which plays a fundamental role in promoting development, especially in Africa. I had the opportunity to discuss these priorities with him at a meeting on June 12. I hope now to maintain a close and trustful working relationship with Robert Zoellick.
France is naturally ready to work with the new president to respond to the many challenges which the Bank has to face at this time, such as defining a long-term strategy for the World Bank group and the 15th replenishment of funds for the International Development Association (IDA).
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