Share this story!            

US troop withdrawal to stabilise Iraq: France

* France says elections should go ahead as planned

PARIS: The withdrawal of US troops from Iraq would be “a real signal of the return of sovereignty” for the violence-wracked country, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said on Monday.

Such a withdrawal should be discussed during an international conference on Iraq to be held in Egypt on November 22-23, Barnier told French television news channel LCI.

A solution to bring stability to Iraq can only be brought about “by negotiation, discussion, a political process, by elections and, at a given moment, by the departure of international troops, notably the American ones,” he said.

But while France hoped to see the troop issue put on the conference agenda, it was not making it a precondition to participating, Barnier stressed.

US President George W Bush’s administration has embraced the idea of the conference, long called for by Paris, but French officials have suggested that Iraqi insurgents also have seats at the table and that a pull-out of US-led forces be raised.

Washington wants the conference to rally international support ahead of Iraq elections which continue to be planned for January despite the daily bloodshed in Iraqi cities and towns.

France said that Iraqi elections scheduled for January will be difficult to organise but everything must be done to ensure they take place on time.

Foreign Minister Michel Barnier told LCI television it was important to broaden the political process to include all groups that turned their backs on violence.

But he said France, which led international opposition to the US-led war in Iraq, would attend next month’s conference on Iraq’s future with no preconditions. “I think we have to keep the prospect of elections because it’s an indispensable stage for democracy in Iraq,” Barnier said. afp/reuters

Home | Foreign

Share this story!