|
French President Jacques Chirac said Thursday that France's position on the Iraqi crisis remains unchanged following Washington's presentation of evidence about Iraq's illegal weapons.
The presentation by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations Security Council did not change the position of France, said Chirac's spokeswoman Catherine Colonna.
"We refuse to consider that war is inevitable," said Chirac, quoted by his spokeswoman who briefed his talks on telephone with leaders of several member nations of the Security Council.
The spokeswoman also urged Iraq to cooperate more actively with the UN inspectors.
Chirac "considers that what the US secretary of state said yesterday has justified that the UN inspectors must proceed with the necessary inspections in Iraq and Iraq must answer to their questions and cooperate more actively," she said.
"But these elements are not of the nature to modify the position of France," she added.
Earlier Thursday, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin reaffirmed that France believes that war is the last solution to the Iraqi crisis.
He said Powell failed to provide any "inescapable evidence" to prove that Iraq had defied its disarmament commitments.
However, the minister said France never rules out the use of force if authorized by the United Nations.
(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2003)
|
