Vedrine to visit Tunisia within weeks, France express support to Palestine
Tunisian Minister for Foreign Affairs Saeed Bin Mustafa and his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine agreed to postpone the official visits scheduled to be made by the French minister to Tunisia on Thursday until the coming weeks.
A statement released by the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs attributed the postponement to escalated developments in international arenas, especially the question of Kosovo, and contacts pertaining to the Arab foreign ministers ' conference.
The statement added that the postponement would not obstruct the convening of the joint French-Tunisian committee at the set time and discussions of all issues tables on the meeting's agenda.
On the other hand, the French spokeswoman announced that the French ambassador in Tunis opened on Thursday the meetings of the joint governmental committee working in Tunis. Sukreh added that in the course of implementing new measures in granting visas, the two French ministers had to inaugurate the new headquarters for the French consulates in the Tunisian capital, a matter which would create better conditions for visa applicants, noting that as Vedrine would not be able to go to Tunis, the French state secretary for the Ministry of the Interior had for his part canceled his visit.
Meanwhile, France has reiterated its commitment to the position adopted by the European Union that provided for the establishment of the Palestinian state. This French position came in response to rumors on the intention of the European Union to ask Yasser Arafat to postpone the announcement of establishing a Palestinian state.
Spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry Ann Gazo Sukreh said on Thursday that the EU had asked in its appeal for the sake of peace in the Middle East advocated in Amsterdam in June 1997 for Israel to recognize the right of the Palestinians to self-determination and rule, without excluding the possibility of establishing a state of their own.
The spokeswoman added that the EU appeal noted that the establishment of a "Palestinian entity," which is sovereign, survivable and peaceful is the best guarantee for security.