| Publications | France A-Z | France/U.S. Relations | France in the U.S. | News | Aller aux Etats-Unis | Just for Kids | Going to France | Contact |
|
Foreign Policy
Interview given by Michel Barnier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to “BFM” (excerpts).
Paris, November 30, 2004 IRAQ/FRENCH HOSTAGES Q. – In an interview with “Libération”, Mohammed al-Joundi, the driver of the two French hostages held in Iraq, talked about the conditions of his captivity. He tried to be reassuring about the fate of our two hostages. Are you, too, Michel Barnier?
THE MINISTER – I was glad to meet yesterday, for the first time, Mohammed al-Joundi, who is here with us in France and has, in fact, provided some information on the first days, weeks of his detention with Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot. I was delighted (...) that he has been freed. (...) Q. – Did the information depicting the two hostages in good health, which appeared notably in the British press, date from some time ago?
THE MINISTER – Study of these tapes and this information, which we’ve begun, indeed proves that the pictures and information aren’t recent. UKRAINE Q. – In Ukraine, the Prime Minister, Victor Yanukovich, has said that he might possibly be ready to accept a new poll provided he and Yushchenko, the Opposition leader, don’t stand. What's your analysis of what's happening today in Ukraine?
THE MINISTER – The Ukrainian leaders and Ukrainian institutions have to find – first of all, seek – a peaceful, political solution to this crisis. My analysis is that the presidential election which has just been held was irregular. There were a large number of irregularities. Q. – Have you had confirmation of electoral fraud?
THE MINISTER – All the observers have shown, and proved, many irregularities and so it's quite simply democracy which is at stake. In saying this I'm not choosing one candidate over the other, or one camp over the other. We are simply choosing to defend democracy in that great country on the European continent, as we would everywhere else. We are defending democracy and not any particular camp. I hope that, thanks to the popular movement which has arisen, and which we are naturally watching closely, with the encouragement and support of the European Union, – Javier Solana went, on our behalf, to Kiev to bear this message of a Europe ready and willing to help, constructively –, I hope that we are going to find a political solution and support it.
Q. – Nevertheless, we get the feeling that this has gone beyond Ukraine's borders. There are the Russians and Vladimir Putin who are, all the same, very much involved, the Americans, and the European Union which, at the The Hague EU-Russia summit, showed great interest in the conditions in which the poll was held. But isn't this in the process of again becoming a confrontation between the United States and Russia? THE MINISTER – I think that everyone must be careful vis-à-vis that region's stability, particularly us, the European Union. We don't want to jeopardize the balance in that region which is the shared neighbourhood, if I can put it like that, of many European countries and of course of that very great country of Russia, who is very closely watching what's happening in Ukraine. I think that in both the United States and Moscow, one has to be careful vis-à-vis this stability. But there's a path we have to take, everywhere in the world, including in our countries in Europe: that of democracy. That's why we are supporting all the efforts which are going to be made, and we ourselves are making to encourage the return to true democracy in the great country of Ukraine. COTE D'IVOIRE Q. – In Côte d'Ivoire, France, the French are accused of firing on the crowd. Is this accusation a provocation?
THE MINISTER – In this Côte d'Ivoire crisis and during the tragic days after our soldiers were attacked and nine of them killed, our reaction was one of legitimate defence and I believe everyone has clearly understood this. It's in fact the thrust of the vote at the United Nations, which was a unanimous vote in support of the French reaction. As regards the accusation, Michèle Alliot-Marie (...) has said exactly what had to be said and I’m not going to go back over it. Now, as Foreign Minister, I am seeking, under President Chirac's authority, to encourage a resumption of the political process. That country can't be left in the state it's in today, divided, with groups fighting each other, with this intolerance. The way has to be found back to the path of discussion, as laid down in the Marcoussis and Accra agreements, which lay down the path, on the one hand, to elections open to all and, on the other, to disarmament in the north. We can't accept that country remaining divided and creating instability throughout the region. When I say "we" I don't mean "we France", but the United Nations which we are part of./.
Embassy of France in the United States - November 30, 2004
|
