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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.] ISRAEL/FRANCE
Shimon Peres, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, will make a working visit to France on Monday, July 29. He will see President Chirac at noon, the foreign minister at 4:00 p.m. and the minister for the interior, security and public freedoms at 5:00 p.m. Between the end of the meeting with Mr. de Villepin and before Mr. Peres leaves the Quai d'Orsay, the two ministers will hold a short briefing for the press.
The visit is part of our regular contacts with Mr. Peres.
It will be an opportunity for in-depth talks on the particularly troubling situation in the Middle East and the current diplomatic efforts. France will reaffirm the urgency of mobilizing to revive a political dynamic in the region, especially through an international conference.
Michael Steiner, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative in Kosovo, will visit Paris on July 29, 2002. He will have a meeting with the foreign minister at the Quai d'Orsay and a luncheon with the political director. The visit will be an opportunity for France to reaffirm its complete support for the special representative in the implementation of resolution 1244.
The talks will focus in particular on the process for provisional autonomy, UNMIK's relations with Belgrade, the development of regional cooperation in accordance with the European Union's message during the French presidency delivered at the Zagreb summit in November 2000, the return of displaced persons and preparations for the municipal elections on October 26, 2002.
Pierre-André Wiltzer, Minister Delegate for Cooperation and Francophony, hosted a working luncheon for Canadian Secretary of State Denis Paradis responsible for Francophony, Africa and Latin America.
At the meeting, which took place in a warm, friendly ambiance, the minister delegate for cooperation and Francophony reviewed the main points in preparations for the Francophony summit.
Mr. Wiltzer and Mr. Paradis were pleased that their views on this converged and expressed satisfaction at preparations for the Francophony summit which will take place in Beirut on October 18.
France welcomes the adoption of the optional protocol to the convention against torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Together with our European partners, we have consistently upheld the principle of a protocol establishing an effective mechanism to prevent torture in the world and together strongly supported the Costa Rica-sponsored proposal.
We took an active part in drafting this mechanism. It culminates ten years of negotiations, strongly supported by the NGOs.
The text must now go to the U.N. General Assembly. France and its European Union partners will continue to remain mobilized to ensure its adoption by this body.
Q - Will France allow the United Nations to come and inspect its prisons?
Once we make international commitments, we respect them. That is a position in principle and a constant in French foreign policy.
Q - About the state of French cooperation with Greece. France is cooperating with Greece in the investigations concerning the November 17 terrorist organization. What are the results?
We're talking here about significant cooperation between France and Greece.
We are satisfied with the results of the inquires that have been made by the Greek authorities in this matter. We have had occasion to express our satisfaction many times. In this context there is cooperation between the French and Greek services concerned. For our part we are satisfied with the way the cooperation is taking place and fully intend to pursue it in liaison with our Greek partners and friends. As you know, we are committed to both the fight against terrorism and international cooperation in this domain, especially with Greece in the present case.
Q - Some of the people implicated in the actions of the November 17 group were active from Paris between 1967 and 1974. Do you have any details about the inquiry into that particular aspect? There's also a French national involved, Ms Peynault. Do you have any particular details about her?
Inquiries are under way and come under other ministries-two good reasons not to talk abut them. All I can tell you today is that we are completely satisfied with Franco-Greek cooperation in this area and that we are determined to pursue our cooperation in this matter in particular, and in the general context of the fight against terrorism./.
Embassy of France, July 26, 2002
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