Today's Date:

Press conference given by M. Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, (excerpts)

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FRANCE/ABBAS

THE MINISTER – (…) We talked at great length in Ramallah the evening before last. We talked, on the day of the meeting, Thursday, about what had happened between the Israeli Prime Minister, M. Ehud Olmert, and the President of the Palestinian Authority. He explained to us that things had gone well at the third meeting and that prospects were opening up for the creation, as everyone knows and is waiting for, of a Palestinian State alongside a State of Israel living in security. A Palestinian State situated, for the moment, probably in the West Bank, since things are today difficult in Gaza.

These prospects will have to be clarified, of course. Nothing is certain but there are significant hopes and each of us is going to work to make them become a reality at the conference scheduled to take place in November.

The President of the Palestinian Authority asked for France's support in various spheres and, in particular, was keen for France to participate in this conference, which we very gladly accepted, but we don't know who's doing the inviting.

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FRANCE/NOVEMBER MIDDLE EAST CONFERENCE

THE MINISTER – Listen, I believe this conference will take place in November. What's the aim of the conference: peace in the Middle East and, above all, peace between Israel – the Israelis and the Palestinians. For the moment, that's still the only thing we know.

I understood the Americans were doing the inviting. We haven't received an invitation, but no one has. I talk to Condoleezza Rice, I talk to the Americans, I talked to Tony Blair for two hours this morning. We think people will start to focus on this conference and that it will be held.

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IRAQI REFUGEES

THE MINISTER – We've just given another €1 million to the UNHCR and I know the burden being put on Syria, certainly, and to a large extent Jordan, their concerns and the difficulties they are encountering by taking in tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Iraq. I know, and we're trying to help them. We talked about this and I believe we must all support – independently of the aid already agreed, with special aid – the UNHCR and above all – and this is what you're really asking – resolve Iraq's political problem because otherwise we're always going to be able to help the refugees but it won't be enough to prevent them leaving.

PALESTINIAN REFUGEES