France, Netherlands turn down U.S. request to expel Iraqi diplomats

Paris turned down U.S. request to expel Iraqi diplomats and said it declined the U.S. request because it concerned a question of French sovereignty, a Foreign Ministry spokesman.

"We have been asked to expel Iraqi diplomats in Paris. Such a decision concerns our sovereignty. There is no reason to do so," he told journalists.

The United States said on Thursday it was expelling three Iraqi diplomats based in Washington and appealed to other countries to close down Iraqi embassies on their territory. Officials said that Howard Leach, the U.S. ambassador to France, had approached the French Foreign Ministry.

A spokesman from the Dutch foreign ministry said the government was monitoring the situation closely, but as long as the Iraqi diplomats abide by normal diplomatic rules, they would not be expelled.

"We have no intention at the moment to expel diplomats or close the embassy... we have no reason to do so," ministry spokesman Bart Jochems told reporters The United States also asked other countries to freeze Iraqi government bank accounts, protect the embassy buildings and ensure their records were not destroyed.

France led the anti-war camp that last week thwarted efforts by the United States and Britain to have the United Nations Security Council pass a resolution authorising war against Iraq.

The Netherlands has said it would offer only political support, not military support to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

In Berlin, the German government said it would not close the Iraqi embassy.

"We have taken notice of the request," said a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry. "I am not aware of any corresponding steps or measures being taken."

The United States, which has launched a war against Iraq which it accuses of amassing weapons of mass destruction, has approached 60 countries, requesting the expulsion of diplomats it says are engaged in espionage.

Germany opposes military action against Iraq.