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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.]
FRANCE/CHINA Hubert Védrine met yesterday with Li Lanqing, Vice Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China; afterwards they signed a report of the conclusions relative to the organization of two-way "cultural years" in China and France in 2003-2004 and the opening of a French cultural center in Beijing and a Chinese cultural center in Paris. These centers, which will offer free access, will be entitled to organize cultural and educational activities. The two ministers noted the development of cultural and artistic exchanges between France and China over the past few years; they emphasized the importance, for the cultural influence of our two countries, of these instruments which will give a greater dimension to the cultural aspect of our comprehensive partnership and contribute to better knowledge of each other. Mr. Védrine and Mr. Lanqing also noted the commitment of the French and Chinese political authorities at the highest level and emphasized the role of the two governments in implementing the decisions taken yesterday.
FRANCE/MAURITANIA The foreign minister this morning received his Mauritanian counterpart, Dah Ould Abdi. Mr. Védrine said France was willing to restore cooperation. The two ministers also exchanged views on Mauritania's external relations, especially with its neighbors. (Has military cooperation been frozen?) Yes. Mauritania decided it that way. On our side, we said France was willing to restore cooperation in all areas. (Are we going to give them weapons?) That's not the picture. (Are you asking for military cooperation to be resumed?) We are willing to do so. (How do you assess the closer ties between Mauritania and the U.S.? Is it likely to harm French interests? What are you doing there?) Generally speaking, we favor everything that is likely to help the development of Africa. Our partnership with Mauritania is currently focused on a number of important cooperation programs in health, education and assistance in building a state of law.
SLOVENIA Janez Drnovsek, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, will be in Paris on April 24 and 25, 2001 for the inauguration of the new premises of Slovenia's embassy. With the exception of a hiatus of several months last year, Mr. Drnovsek has been prime minister of the Republic of Slovenia since 1992. This is his third visit to our country in an official capacity. Mr. Drnovsek will have a meeting with the prime minister during his visit. The two men will discuss the process of Slovenia's EU membership. The process is now well under way, and we're pleased. Also on the agenda will be bilateral relations, which are excellent. Trade, which has made strong gains in the last year, is expected to grow again this year. Lastly, the talks are also likely to include Slovenia's candidacy to join NATO and the OECD, and the current developments in southeast Europe.
CHILE Ricardo Lagos, President of Chile, made a working to visit to France from April 17-19 to discuss Franco-Chilean bilateral relations. During the visit, issues of interest to Chile's relations with the EU and various aspects of the situation on the American continent were also discussed. President Lagos, accompanied by the ministers for foreign relations and public works, met with the president, the prime minister, the foreign minister and the minister for national education. He was received by the speaker of the National Assembly and the mayor of Paris. Ms S. Alvear, Foreign Minister of Chile, had talks with Mr. Moscovici, Minister Delegate for European Affairs, and Mr. Huwart, the Foreign Trade Secretary. Regarding bilateral relations, the meetings between Chile's head of state and the French authorities focused on the rapid development in trade and in investment projects by French businesses in Chile (as you know, the Airbus received a substantial order from Lan Chile last year) and the close cooperation between us. During the president's meeting with Mr. Lang, they discussed the place of French in secondary education in Chile and the prospect of establishing a Franco-Chilean chair in Paris. During the visit, Chile's president showed himself ready to press forward with the negotiations with the EU to the end. This is an important objective for Chile. As you know, the negotiations enter into the second phase on July 1 at which time tariff and service questions will be addressed. The negotiations with Chile, parallel to those conducted with Mercosur, are under way. The French authorities told Chile's president that they wanted these processes to conclude quickly, in tandem with the gains that may be made in launching the new round in the context of the WTO; they also said they were ready to examine favorably, with their EU partners, Chile's request for accelerated EU-Chile negotiations when the time comes. Lastly, the visit afforded an opportunity for an exchange of views on the situation in Latin America, and to hear President Lagos' assessment of the current difficulties on the sub-continent.
AFHGANISTAN At the GAC on February 19, Mr. Védrine drew the attention of our European partners to the importance of increasing aid to Afghanistan. Consequently we welcome the decision by the European Commission to grant 2.6 million euros in additional aid to Afghanistan. This aid will be used to assist the refugees and displaced persons affected by the drought and the continued fighting. It will also permit better follow up of current humanitarian operations. The funds will also be used to maintain assistance in such fields as health, water and drainage, and to provide medical and nutritional care. (2.6 million euros additional to what? What was the figure before?) With the decision in 1999 to finance a humanitarian program under the "Echo" funds, the total amount of aid amounts to 23,350 million euros, including the 2.6 million I just mentioned. (What type of control has the Commission set up to make sure that the money is distributed satisfactorily, to a regime that is increasingly criticized? For the Afghan refugees, the Commission works essentially with UNHCR, an organization called the International Rescue Committee and the Danish Refugees Council. The actions will be implemented by humanitarian operators in two camps sheltering the refuges. The aid should benefit nearly 100,000 persons. As for Afghanistan itself, the financing will cover primarily the costs of the International Red Cross for a number of actions, especially medical and nutritional care. The number of estimated recipients is over 300,000 persons. (Might there be refugees receiving aid in the north of the country?) There are refugees in the Herat region. But if your question is whether the aid might also benefit refugees located in the zone controlled by Commander Massoud, you'll have to ask the Commission. I don't have the answers. In any case, you know that France's position is that humanitarian aid should go to all areas of Afghanistan and to the entire Afghan people, including, of course, the area controlled by Commander Massoud.
CLIMATE CONFERENCE (About the climate conference in Bern on July 7. Do you think the EU can do anything without U.S. supprot?) Let me say in any case that we are determined to implement the Kyoto Protocol. The EU has a solid, united, coherent position, and we will continue to exert all the pressure we can to take environmental protection forward, so that the protocol can be implemented, with the broadest support, including the support of the U.S. of course, which produces a quarter of all the CO² emissions in the world.
FRANKFURT The French and German foreign ministers will meet in Frankfurt on Monday, April 23. The meeting is part of the working program set up at the Blaaesheim meeting à 5 on January 31. At the meeting the two foreign ministers were given a mandate to prepare and intensify the work in common. Mr. Fischer and Mr. Védrine met earlier in Paris on March 8 and in Stuttgart on February 16, and also met with their agriculture colleagues in Paris on March 13. After Blaesheim, on March 20, the president, prime minister, chancellor and the two ministers met again in Herxheim. They will see each other again in Paris on Mary 11. At the Frankfurt meeting, the two ministers will discuss in particular preparations for the European summit in Göteborg and will continue to go more thoroughly into the bilateral and European questions important for our two countries. I just want to add that Mr. Védrine will open the Lycée français in Frankfurt tomorrow morning.
ABIDJAN/FRANC ZONE The finance ministers of the franc zone will meet in Abidjan on April 24 and 25. Participating for the French side will be Mr. Fabius, Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry, and Mr. Josselin, Minister Delegate for Cooperation and Francophony. The visit will also be an opportunity to exchange views on the situation in the Côte d'Ivoire and the various aspects of bilateral relations. Mr. Fabius and Mr. Josselin will be guests at a small dinner given by the head of state at this residence and at a luncheon presided by Affi N'Guessan, Prime Minister of the Côte d'Ivoire. Afterwards Mr. Fabius and Mr. Josselin will have talks with the head of the Ivorian government and his minister for economy and finance. The minister delegate and the Ivorian minister for the economy and finance are due to sign four cooperation conventions for a total of 51 million FF. As we'd pledged, this will lead in practical terms to a resumption of our civilian cooperation in the health, agriculture and social development sectors, under the social development funds. Lastly, Mr. Fabius and Mr. Josselin will hold a press conference on April 25 at 3:30 p.m. with the Ivorian prime minister, the Ivorian finance minister and the central bank governors of the franc zone.
NTV I'd like to recall what Mr. Védrine said yesterday about the situation of the media in Russia. "Pluralism of information and the independence of the media are vital elements in a state of law. "The Russian authorities have on several occasion affirmed at the highest level their commitment to these principles. Much had been done these past few years in that direction in Russia. "That is why I am disappointed and disturbed by the developments of these past few days concerning the NTV television channel, the closing of the daily Sevodnia and that of the weekly Itogui. I hope that the Russian authorities fully measure what we expect from a democratic state in this area."
IRAQ/KUWAIT (Do you have any comment about the tensions between Iran and Iraq and the Iranian attacks against sites in Iraq?) The circumstances lead us to recall France's commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq as for all the countries in the region. Anything that might jeopardize regional stability, which I recall is expressly aimed at, for example in resolution 687, must be avoided. Accordingly, we regret the actions you referred to.
ISRAEL (Two days in a row, Mr. Védrine has mentioned the possibility of reviewing the association agreement between Israel and the EU. And the day before yesterday, he said that several European countries were thinking about it.) First, as the minister said on April 18, 2001, and he also said it on several radio stations, if the discrepancy should continue between the objective and content of the agreement and events on the ground, it would end up posing a problem. What problem? It has to do with the substance of article 2 of the association agreement that says that relations between the parties and all the provisions of the present agreement have to respect human rights and the democratic principles which underpin their internal and international policy which constitute a crucial element in the present agreement. I have no further comment. The minister was perfectly clear.
FRY (Does France approve of introducing customs posts within the territory of the FRY on the administrative border between Serbia and Kosovo? Isn't it in contradiction to resolution 1244?) You're quite right about the reference to resolution 1244 since that is our frame of reference. The question you ask is a sensitive question. On one hand, we understand naturally that the Kosovo administration needs fiscal revenue to function. Also you were right to emphasize too that customs barriers should not be established between Kosovo and the FRY. So what's the situation? First, it's a technical measures decided on by UNMIK to deal with contraband and smuggling and prevent taxes which should be paid in Kosovo from being circumvented and not paid. UNMIK also stated that the fiscal posts, on the administrative border of Kosovo, existed before with Montenegro. That being the case, I recognize that this is a touchy matter which should be addressed first of all by UNMIK and Belgrade in the context of the principles I've just recalled./. Embassy of France, April 20, 2001
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