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| Washington seeks to mend ties with Paris |
| | www.chinaview.cn 2004-06-06 07:36:27 |
PARIS, June 5
(Xinhuanet) -- Visiting US President George W. Bush Saturday took advantage of
the upcoming D-Day commemorations to improve ties with Paris which were strained
due to their differences over the Iraqi crisis.
Bush and French President Jacques Chirac held talks at the presidential Elysee Palace, focusing on Iraqi
issue, a day before the 60th anniversary ceremonies of D-Day landings in
Normandy.
It was their first meeting since September 2003
when they met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. France
was one of the strongest opponents in Europe against Bush's war policies over
Iraq.
At their joint news conference, the French president
expressed his satisfaction with his American counterpart, hoping that the United
Nations Security Council would vote "in the next few days" on a new United
Nations resolution on Iraq, which will give full sovereignty to the new interim
Iraqi government.
Chirac said that France and the United
States were on the same ine with regard to the resolution aimed at "returning
full sovereignty to the Iraqi government."
"Things have well
evolved, with discussions being carried out in the best spirit. I hope we can
reach in the next few days a resolution in response to what is essential for us,
namely, to give the Iraqis the feeling that they recover the sovereignty and
master their fate," said Chirac.
The French president also
called on the Iraqi government and the multinational forces to settle problems
concerning security arrangement.
Days earlier, Chirac
stressed that the Iraqi people must control their own forces and the right of
inspection on major operations of the coalition forces led by the United
States.
Bush said Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the
coalition have exchanged some letters to set the cooperation parameters in terms
of security in Iraq.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell told
a news conference aboard the plane taking Bush from Rome to Paris earlier on
Saturday that Allawi has explained in a letter the conditions under which US-led
coalition troops would remain in Iraq after the handover of power, including the
140,000 American soldiers.
The letter was expected to be
included as an annex to the resolution, he said, adding that "the coalition
forces are there at the invitation of that sovereign
government."
"When the French see that, I think they will
realize that the Iraqis are satisfied with our presence, will be satisfied to
see that we are ready to attend the coordination and consultation process," he
said.
The French president showed some doubts however on the
improvement of the situation in Iraq.
"We will see it in
some time, we have not got out of difficulties. We are in a situation that
remains very precarious," he said.
"We have to put a lot of
will, competence, heart especially," he added.
To assure
each other, the two leaders listed the fields where the two countries cooperated
effectively, from peace keeping in the Balkans and Afghanistan to fight against
terrorism and arms proliferation.
Chirac also thanked the
Americans for their sacrifice for the Europe's liberty. "The French say 'Thank
You' to the Americans and they will not forget what they have done 60 years ago.
And that is very, very important in our minds and in our hearts," he
said.Enditem
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