French ideas to settle the Iraqi crisis
Iraq-France, Politics, 1/14/1999

France proposed to members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday the main outline for a new monitoring system in order to eliminate Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and at the same time lift the international sanctions imposed on Iraq.

A Western diplomat at the United Nations said the French representative at the UN, Allen Dejame, also proposed the French ideas to the five other permanent Security Council member states in a closed-door meeting. He said that France has no intention of proposing a plan, rather general views to establish new relations with Iraq following recent air strikes launched by Britain and the US against Iraq and the suspension of inspection operations.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the French permanent representative at the UN described these discussions as very important and refused to comment on the content of the proposal and to what extent it has been accepted by the four countries. But he added, "We will continue our work concerning Iraq with our partners."

A Western diplomat said that the French representative told, earlier in the day, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan about these ideas.

France said that it intends to establish a new system for monitoring Iraqi weapons, while simultaneously lifting the embargo imposed on Iraq for eight years together with a tough financial monitoring system on Iraq.

Within this context, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine met with his British counterpart, Robin Cook, in Paris last Friday. He met on Tuesday in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov and the two men discussed the French ideas. They agreed the on need to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people and the resignation of UNSCOM chairman Richard Butler.

Previous Stories:
  Russia opposes Iraqi parliament's recommendation to refuse implementation of UN resolutions   (1/13/1999)
  Iraqi official threatens to withdraw recognition of UN resolutions   (1/13/1999)
  Report: New Arab reaction towards Iraq   (1/11/1999)
  Tariq Aziz: Who will apologize to who?   (1/11/1999)

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