Today's Date:

THE MINISTER – Ladies and gentlemen, Chθre Condoleezza, I want to begin by telling you how pleased I am to welcome my friend Condoleezza Rice here to the Quai d'Orsay.

Since I came to the Quai d'Orsay several months ago, we've worked together a great deal, in Washington first, in July, when I had a long, fruitful working meeting with her, and then in Brussels and London.

Let me say that I welcome this regular dialogue, an exchange I shall describe as rich and fruitful, as the United States and France – friends and allies as we are and always have been – can and should have. And it's precisely because the United States and France share fundamental values that we mustn't be afraid of our differences, quite the opposite. For France, the United States is a friend, ally and partner. Because we're friends, we can speak to each other totally candidly about important subjects, which shows that the Americans and French know how to work together on very concrete matters.

It's therefore in this spirit of close cooperation that I intend to continue going regularly to the United States. I hope that each of my visits will be an opportunity to maintain, still further tighten the ties between Paris and Washington, bring the French and Americans closer together. Because Franco-American friendship is above all a deep aspiration for two peoples, let me tell Condoleezza Rice again how greatly the French people felt for the United States in the ordeal suffered as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The French people really wanted to express their sympathy for and solidarity with the American people.

Concerning our meeting, we talked a lot about Iran in particular, but also about Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other issues.

I can assure you that we enjoy our cooperation and a perfect understanding, which is in fact increasingly evident, particularly on these issues.

I'll now hand over to Condi for a few words of introduction, we agreed that we'd each take two questions.

Just a word about Iran, since Ms Rice has just been talking about this.

I believe we share similar views on Iran; together we must make the Security Council option absolutely credible. Moreover, this is what we were working on at the Council of Governors' meeting recently. We've got to keep on believing in the negotiations; if it's possible to negotiate, then we must do so.

We believe that sensitive nuclear activities must be suspended. We've got to convey a firm message, but we've got to avoid declarations which raise the possibility of action outside the multilateral framework.

So it's important to believe in the International Atomic Energy Agency, to make it credible, not to be afraid to say that, if necessary, the prospect of [referral to] the Security Council exists. But in the meantime we must give the impression that Iran, which is a great country, is listening carefully to what we're asking her.

THE MINISTER – I reiterate here that we share common goals with the Americans, to avoid Iran mastering the fuel cycle. And for this, as I've just said, we have to work in the multilateral framework. The Security Council option must remain, for Iran, a sufficient deterrent to persuade her to abandon these sensitive activities. This has to be explained and this has to be done with the Russians and Chinese.

THE MINISTER – As regards bird flu, this is a matter of concern to everyone, including the Americans. As you know, the problem today is that of the possibility of the bird flu virus mutating. To date, it hasn't mutated, there's no human-to-human transmission. So we need to reassure people by explaining that the virus hasn't mutated. It hasn't mutated.

Let me say, as Foreign Minister and at Condoleezza Rice's side, that if we don't want the virus to mutate, we have to do our utmost to prevent it from doing so. There will certainly be places in the world, probably the poorest ones, the countries of the South, in Asia and Africa, in which, sooner or later, poultry will be affected by the H5N1 virus. We have to show international solidarity there to make sure that in those places too there are effective public health systems, prevention systems and antiviral systems so that the virus does not mutate, because if it does, it will obviously mutate not only in those regions, on those continents, but also in our countries. [If we failed to do this] not only would it obviously be morally and ethically scandalous, but above all very stupid, at world level, for the health of all the world's citizens.

To this end, there's going to be a very important meeting in Geneva. It will take place on 7 and 8 November, at the invitation of the three multilateral bodies – the World Health Organization (WHO), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) so that we can, as the principal aid donors, organize our efforts to help the poorest countries.

I take the liberty of saying this because I never hear it said

Secondly, I have asked the British Presidency, Jack Straw, to convene a special meeting of the General Affairs Council both on the WTO and bird flu.

On Tuesday, we'll have a discussion on this subject to decide what the European Union is going to do, as an aid donor, for the countries of the south – there's talk of the need to give €150 million at world level, it's perhaps far more – and we'll see how we can organize ourselves, regulate, harmonize our efforts in the fight against avian flu.

THE MINISTER – On this, I'd just like to say that there has to be a political process alongside the constitutional process being put in place.

Iraq's security, social and political situation worries us. It seems important to us to envisage a way of ending the crisis which allows an inclusive process. This must bring in all the components of Iraqi society, above all to save Iraqi unity.

THE MINISTER – Briefly, and to add to what Ms Rice has just said, I think that a civil nuclear fuel programme doesn't necessitate mastery of the fuel cycle. This is the issue.

Today, if we stick to civil nuclear activities, and peaceful nuclear activities, given the partnership between the Russians and Iranians, there is no need to master the fuel cycle. At any rate that's what we think, and it's what we've told Iran.

THE MINISTER – Our objective is very clear on this matter: Lebanon's sovereignty. We're more determined than ever to enforce UNSCRs 1559 and 1595. And the absolute priority on 1595 is to enable Judge Melhis to do his job, his whole job. We have total confidence in him being able to submit the report, ordered by the United Nations, to the Security Council, and us being able to take its consequences on board. The worst thing would be to politicize it. It's not a political matter, it's a legal one, a criminal investigation which must be completed, with the courts subsequently given all the necessary means to allow us to take what Judge Melhis says on board./.