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Daily Press Briefing Statements made by [Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.]
GAC
A general affairs council will be held in Brussels on February 18 and 19.
Under horizontal questions and given its coordination function, the GAC will begin by examining the work in other Council bodies and then move on to preparation of the European Council in Barcelona which will be held on March 15-16.
Ministers will then continue discussions on the financial framework of enlargement, begun at the Caceres Gymnich, then in the Ecofin Council. The Commission will also present its second report on economic and social cohesion.
The Council will then review all of the Union's outside actions. This is an exercise begun under the French presidency to improve the coherence and efficiency, in practical terms, of the EU's resources in this domain, especially community programs. Commissioner Patten is carrying out a major reform of the services he runs which we fully support.
The Commission will then present a report ahead of the Monterey conference on development. The Council will continue to examine the EU's relations with third countries from the standpoint of counter-terrorism. It will review the situation in the western Balkans. In connection with this, it will examine both the project for the EU to take over providing senior officers for the police in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the proposal for the EU to take over operation Amber Fox from NATO in Macedonia. France supported both these projects at the Gymnich in Caceres. Lastly, ministers will take another look at the situation in Zimbabwe in light of recent developments.
The luncheon will be mainly given over to the situation in the Middle East after the detailed discussions at the Gymnich in Caceres. Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah will be received by ministers after the luncheon.
On the sidelines of the Council, there will be a breakfast meeting between the troika and Croatia on Tuesday, February 19, and association council meetings with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
President Bush recently made public his approach to counter the effects of greenhouse gases. We are pleased that the U.S. is joining the international scientific consensus on the reality and dangers of global warming and plans to contribute by offering incentives for production methods that reduce the greenhouse effect.
On first analysis, however, these measures aim simply to slow the increase in greenhouse gas emissions by the U.S. whereas the scientific community agrees on the need to rapidly achieve an absolute reduction in these emissions. Above all, the measures do not include binding commitments to cut back emissions.
We are convinced that the Kyoto Protocol, which was reached after lengthy negotiations and combines voluntary measures, market arrangements and technology transfers to attain the quantified targets on emission cut-backs, is the best tool against the greenhouse effect.
We reiterate our call to all the signatories of the Marrakech agreements to ratify the Kyoto Protocol without delay, in accordance with their commitments. The door is still open for the U.S. to return to the Kyoto process. Until then, we hope that the leading producer of greenhouse gases develops a cooperative approach vis-à-vis the signatory states and Kyoto Protocol mechanisms.
In response to requests from the Afghan interim authority and the U.N. secretary-general, France is ready to extend the deployment of certain French units beyond April 30 in liaison with the British, with a redefined mission in consequence.
I'd like to remind you that under the Security Council resolution, the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force runs until June 30 and I'd also like to point out that in the resolution, the Security Council stipulated that the ISAF should be deployed in Kabul and the areas immediately surrounding it. Like the other permanent Security Council members, we remain very committed to this principle. For us, the priority is to train and equip the Afghan army. We are ready to contribute to this and we have made proposals to this end.
Q - So are you asking for a new resolution?
No. We recall the terms of the resolution which establishes the legal framework for deployment of the ISAF, both in time and space--in time, the mandate runs through June 30, and in space, for Kabul and its environs. With the Security Council resolution recalled, we are saying that like the other SC permanent members, we remain very attached to this principle.
Q - After April 30, and a redefined mission as a consequence, does that mean the mission can't go on after June 30 without a new resolution? Secondly, what does a redefined mission mean? Does it mean it won't extend beyond June 30 and will stay in Kabul and its environs? Is that how one should understand it?
No. France is ready to extend the deployment of some of its units beyond April 30.
I would remind you that the ISAF mandate, in accordance with the SC resolution, ends on June 30. When the resolution was adopted, France said that it would contribute to the force by sending a contingent for a limited time, until April 30. That was our contribution in a national capacity. We said that we would do this in liaison with the British. Now, you have requests from the interim authority and the U.N. secretary-general. In view of these requests, we are saying we are prepared to extend the deployment of some of our units beyond April 30, in liaison with the British and with a redefined mission in consequence. We also recall the general context of the resolution which set a deadline for the force, not for France's participation, for the force, which was June 30 and it also stipulated that the force should be deployed in Kabul and its environs.
Q - And the question of ISAF command?
That is under discussion. At this time, the British are in command. They're what is called the framework nation. So for now the framework nation is the United Kingdom. There's a possibility that Turkey may take over, but for the time being talks are underway, and I have no other information.
Q - The framework nation is stipulated in the resolution?
No. It's not in the resolution. It's agreed on among the contributor countries. Remember that 18 countries are contributing to the ISAF.
Q - When you talk about equipping and training the Afghan army, would that be a European effort or by France gratis?
I said in a national capacity. Especially in the area of training.
Q - In liaison with the British, does that mean the British also want to cut back their force?
We are in liaison with them. It means that our defense ministers are working together on that aspect.
Q - What's your thinking about the recent Iranian move which resulted in the arrest of 150 members of al Qaeda, knowing that French nationals might possibly be part of the group?
Our embassy in Teheran was informed by the Iranian authorities, after the arrests you referred to, of persons fleeing Afghanistan. Among the people arrested, it is possible there are French nationals.
Q - How many are claiming French nationality?
We don't have exact figures yet. All I can say is that we are endeavoring to carry out the necessary checks.
Q - Does France want these people extradited to France or for them to be tried in Iran?
We're going ahead too fast. We were informed by the Iranian authorities that there might be French nationals among the persons arrested. At this stage, we are making preliminary checks.
Q - About the French detained in Iran, are you going to send a fact-finding mission like the one that went to Guantanamo Bay?
That remains to be seen, but so far as I know at this time our embassy in Teheran is in contact with the Iranian authorities and we are endeavoring to proceed with the appropriate checks.
Q - Unlike the Americans, are the Iranians proposing to hand over the nationals if they turn out to be French?
At this stage in our information, the Iranian authorities have informed us there may be French nationals in the group of persons arrested; we're checking up and until the checks have been concluded we can have nothing to say. The Iranian authorities will inform us of their position then.
The meeting in Berlin emphasized the interest of the international community in questions of internal security and the importance it has for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. This was the first time the country's internal security needs had been examined.
For its part, France has said it is ready to provide training personnel.
It is important, in our view, for this initiative to be followed through, particularly in cooperation with the European Union.
As we said, the first Franco-Sudanese consultations, chaired by the assistant secretary general at the Foreign Ministry, Daniel Lequertier, took place in Paris on February 12. The Sudanese delegation was led by Dr. Mutrif Siddiq, secretary general of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry.
The consultations afforded an opportunity to discuss the prospects for change in the internal conflict which could be modified by the change in the international environment. Among other things, there's a shift in U.S. policy towards Sudan, as seen in the Danforth mission and the recently signed cease-fire in the Nuba Mountains under American and Swiss auspices--it's for six months and could be extended. There was also an exchange of analyses on the regional situation.
The two delegations agreed and decided that these consultations should be held in future on an annual basis and that questions of cooperation should also be addressed.
Lastly, following the announcements made yesterday by the prime minister, after the end of the CICID meeting, I'd also like to point that the CICID decision to include Sudan in the priority solidarity zone also reflects our desire to support Sudan's policy to become more open and to help its reintegration into the international community, which began in particular when the U.N. lifted sanctions last September.
Q - Do you have any comment on the re-establishment of air links between France and Libya which was announced today?
These are decisions taken by the Ministry of Transport, and more particularly by the general department for civil aviation. Given the information I have at this time, I can confirm that the project you're referring to is going forward./.
Embassy of France, February 15, 2002
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