Chirac shows strong commitment to Iraq on accord

French President Jacques Chirac said yesterday that "to contribute to the success of the agreement obtained by Mr Kofi Annan, I have the intention of writing once again to President Saddam Hussein. I will tell him that everything is open and that everything is possible, namely the lifting of the sanctions and the reintegration of Iraq into the international community, but that it obviously implies that he abide by the rules."

This follows statements on Wednesday that stressed France's commitment to the implementation of the accord signed between Baghdad and the UN, amid French criticism to the "US role model," played by Britain which called for directing a strong warning to Iraq and setting up a court to try "people similar to Saddam Hussein."

Chirac' s statements were made during his meeting Wednesday with the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jamil Hujeilan, who said following the meeting that the GCC had previously expressed "satisfaction" over the signing of the accord on Monday between the UN and Iraq, adding "we hope this crisis to be the last."

A spokesman for the French Presidential Palace on Wednesday said that France is committed to the implementation of the accord, adding that Chirac and Hujeilan reviewed during the meeting the situation in the Arab region and the "excellent relations" between France and the GCC member states.

To this end in a press statement, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said, "Destabilizing Iraq will be an unacceptable act" due to the instability in the Middle East which carries the seeds of a possible explosion. He added that limiting "Iraq's aggressive capability" is the interest of the Arab states.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi on Wednesday met with his Russian counterpart, Yevgeny Primakov, in the first day of his two-day visit to Russia. Talks dealt with economic and political cooperation relations and closer ties in the field of nuclear energy as well as the recent US - Iraqi crisis.

Russia reiterated its rejection of the use of force against Baghdad, noting it will resume arms shipments to Iran if Iraq is exposed to a US aggression.

Following the meeting with Primakov, Kharazi said he is very "optimistic" over the meeting concluded between the UN chief and the Iraqi leadership. He added that a time when one state seeks to impose its will on other states has gone for ever, whereas the Russian minister said that "under current conditions no reasons justify the use of power against Iraq.