Today's Date:

Thank you very much Marwan, I am very pleased to have this new opportunity to tour the Near- and Middle East, and to stop over for a second time in Amman, which obviously is at the heart of the different crises this region is going through : the situation in Iraq, of course, but also the situation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The bonds of friendship and trust uniting our two countries are known to all—the ties between King Abdallah II and President Jacques Chirac, between Marwan Muasher and myself. We are convinced, at this difficult time, that it is crucial to consult one another and to ponder the regional situation together. Clearly, this is our opportunity to do so.

France is happy to see the Kingdom’s stability. We are especially aware of the economic and political repercussions of this crisis, and naturally we take this into account when urging European authorities to accelerate the establishment of European Union cooperation programs. France is fully committed to supporting Jordan’s policy of economic openness and development.

Concerning Iraq, I wish to say that we have many points of agreement with our Jordanian friends. At present, France sees two priorities : first, of course, responding to the humanitarian emergency—the population’s urgent needs must be met. I will in fact be speaking later with the French non-governmental organizations active in Iraq, and I know they are fully mobilized. The second emergency is to see that sanctions are suspended, then lifted altogether. Our concern is to approach this pragmatically, to settle this matter and to obtain an immediate suspension which, in liaison with the United Nations and with all due respect for the constraints of international law, will allow the future removal of these sanctions.

In order to move forward as efficiently as possible, in this difficult period, it is important to base all action upon principle—I am thinking first, of course, of territorial unity and integrity, of Iraq’s sovereignty; also, naturally, of the central role of the United Nations, which provide the legitimacy required to mobilize the entire global community on the ground; and finally, respecting and protecting Iraq’s natural resources, which must remain in Iraqi hands. The international community must be able to contribute on all these points. The forces engaged on the ground, the American and British coalition forces, obviously have a particular responsibility to take care of the humanitarian emergency, and also to reestablish security on the ground. Europe, in Athens, showed herself to be united, ready to play her part fully and to support political and economic reconstruction efforts. Countries within the region, however, have a very great responsibility, and I am glad that after Istanbul, the ministers’ meeting in Riyadh allowed the region to speak with one voice. This concertation, this regional unity in supporting the Iraqi reconstruction process is clearly essential.

Beyond Iraq, mobilization is of course necessary to address all crises in the region, and I am thinking especially of the Israeli-Palestinian question. We are very much in agreement with our Jordanian friends in considering it is essential to take the initiative here. The imperatives of justice and security must be reconciled. It is now necessary not only to publish, but to act on the road map; and we very much wish to believe that in the next few hours the Palestinian authorities will be able to come to an agreement, in order to move on to the next indispensable stage of restarting the peace process. As you know, Europe, and France within the European Union, are truly ready to do their part. This is a key moment requiring a coming-together of the international community, for the United States, for Arab nations, for European countries, for Israel, to try together to meet the challenge of this region which has suffered too long in painful crisis.

The “information” you refer to is, of course, totally unfounded. Concerning relations between France and the United States, you know that we are friends and allies. When the question was war versus peace, you know the position France chose to take. What is important now, after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, of which we are glad, is to turn resolutely towards the future. We have major challenges to meet : political, economic, social and administrative reconstruction in Iraq. The task is immense and we need the full resources, competence and mobilization of the international community to face these challenges. This is to say that there is no question of the measures you mentioned, which would be totally out of place here. One does not punish friendship, one does not punish principles, one does not punish international legality, and France has defended these principles and legality throughout this crisis.

The reconstruction of Iraq is very a important challenge for Iraq itself, for the region and for the international community. We are of course all concerned by this very important challenge. We believe that the international community shoud be united in dealing with such challenges. We are committed to find answers. We do believe that we have, step by step, to face the situation and the different problems. We have humanitarian urgency and as you know we have decided, in the Security Council within resolution 1472 to answer and to mobilise the international community. As you know, the European Union is very mobilised on this matter. We have also many other problems we have to face : sanctions, desarmament, the constitution of an Iraqi authority, which is very important for the future of Iraq. All these challenges are of such a high importance that we need energy, we need the mobilisation, we need the imagination of the whole international community. Of course, at the present stage, the forces on the ground, the forces of the coalition do have a special responsibility concerning the humanitarian urgency, concerning these questions of security. We need to keep the unity of Irak, we need to keep the stability of Irak and of the region. And of course, the American and the British do have a special responsibility on the ground.

As you know, we have been in constant concertation with China over the last few months, at the Security Council and in our bilateral relationship with China. I was in China a few weeks ago and I was able to continue these discussions with China’s leaders. Once again, the challenges we are faced with are challenges which mobilize the entire international community, which concern the entire international community, and as you know, we have maintained close contact over this period, both to exchange views and to find solutions at each stage of the crisis in the Security Council. It is normal, particularly for permanent members, to coordinate in this manner and we naturally wish to build upon and maintain this particular relationship over the coming months. Because once again, the challenges of Irak are of such magnitude, the challenges of the Middle East, and I mean also of course the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, justify mobilization for all of us—and China is one of the major voices which must be heeded, and to which we grant great importance.

You see, in a short lapse of time, this is my second trip to the region and I must say that your question is very highly hypothetical as we are used to say. I must say that all the meetings I have had in the region show that the position of the European Union and the position of France have never been may be so high, there is a lot of people waiting to see European Union coming with a strong position and there is a lot of expectation about such a position, so I think that everybody understands that in order to win peace in the region, to win peace in Irak, to win peace in the israeli-palestinian process, we need to be committed to work together. The international community must work together. It is true in the Security Council, of course, it is true also in the region and I am very happy to see that after the Istanbul ministerial meeting, the neighbouring countries of Irak have been working together having commitments together. It’s important to have such a coordination, it’s important at this stage to talk, to try to find solutions as we have been discussing with Marwan. Problems are very numerous : when you speak about disarmament, when you speak about sanctions, when you speak about the humanitarian situation, when you speak about political reconstruction, we see that the challenges are very high and they need to have every one of us involved, giving the best, giving imagination, giving energy, giving money, giving time, and I think it is the right time for us to come to this region to have a very important concertation, consultations, and that’s what we are doing, and of course, we keep in touch with one another to share our believes, to share our experiences, to share our determination and it is important that after the war, the international community gets reunited. It is important for the peace, it is important for the stability, it is important for the development of the region.