France seeks to patch up relations with US on Iraq

UNITED NATIONS, April 23 (Reuters) - Extending an olive branch to the United States, France called for an "immediate" suspension of U.N. sanctions against Iraq but gave few details on how this could be accomplished quickly.

The Bush administration reacted coolly to the proposal by French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, whose country led the opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, repeating it wanted the embargoes ended, not just suspended.

But aside from goodwill, the implications of the French proposal were not immediately clear, with diplomats saying tough negotiations lay ahead.

De la Sabliere said France was ready to move immediately to suspend "civilian sanctions" and to adjust and eventually phase out the existing "oil-for-food" program, which puts Iraq's oil revenues under U.N. control.

The program, the heart of the crippling sanctions, needs to be renewed on June 3. Oil exports have stopped since the war began and it is unclear if any Iraqi authority can sign new oil deals, prompting oil firms to delay contracts.

De la Sabliere also made another concession, saying that the sanctions could be suspended before U.N. arms inspectors certified Iraq no longer had weapons of mass destruction.

"The lifting of the sanctions, which is, I think, the objective of all of us, is linked to the certification of the disarmament of Iraq," he said. "Meanwhile, we could suspend the sanctions and adjust the oil-for-food program with the idea of phasing it out."

The Security Council imposed sweeping trade, financial, flight and other sanctions after Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait in August 1990. It modified them late in 1996 by allowing Iraq to sell oil, under U.N. supervision, to pay for food, medicine and other civilian goods and reparations to Kuwait.

The French proposal took council members by surprise. One British diplomat said: "The French went for the headline. The headline is immediate lifting of sanctions but you ask them what it means, they are not specific. But the fact that they said it is a step forward."

The Bush administration appeared in no hurry to mend fences with France or any one else in the United Nations, although the sanctions cannot be abolished without council approval.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer openly opposed a return of U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq, called for in U.N. resolutions and supported by most council members, including staunch ally Britain.

And Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Charlie Rose television program that France would suffer for having opposed the war effort, according to a State Department transcript.

"It's over and we have to take a look at the relationship. We have to look at all aspects of our relationship with France in light of this," Powell said.

Asked if there were consequences for having stood up to the United States, he replied "yes" but did not elaborate.

Nevertheless, the French proposal appeared to have caught Russia, Germany and China, who also opposed the war, off guard although Russia's U.N. ambassador, Sergei Lavrov, indicated he would consider the French idea.

"The full and final verification that there is no trace of (weapons of mass destruction) in Iraq is necessary for total lifting of all sanctions," Lavrov told reporters.

"Anything short of that could be done on the basis of a Security Council decision, so the French proposal is not against Security Council procedures."

At a council meeting on Tuesday, Benon Sevan, head of the oil-for-food program, called for an extension of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's authorization over humanitarian contracts until June 3, when the current six-month phase of the program expires.

His office said that U.N. agencies had identified over $450 million in food and medical contracts that could reach Iraq before a May 12 deadline, out of $1 billion available.

Mexico's U.N. ambassador, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, the current council president, circulated a resolution to extend Annan's authority until June 3. He said council was expected to vote before the end of the week.

France has a financial problem, 1st they have had their golden cow (Iraq) taken from them. At the same time The good folks of the U.S.A. have said they have had enough of the duplicitious dealings of the french.
France has been charging billions more for their products, many banned for sale to the old regeime, then would be paid on the market.
And I know I'm not buying anything from the ungreatful french and it doesn't matter if the french premier kisses Mr. Bushes butt on the reflecting ponds grounds. The french and their econony can eat frogs.

I, for one, don't care what they extend to the USA. They will pay for their actions from now on. And, the only I'll extend to France, or any Frenchmen, is the finger!

"The program, the heart of the crippling sanctions, needs to be renewed on June 3"

This is a no-brainer... Use the found cash and gold to rebuild the country until the sanctions expire on the 3rd of June (if I'm reading this article right).

The headline is totally misleading. I don't see one shred of evidence indicating the French are trying to mend fences with us. Their latest move sounds more like the tail trying to wag the dog, again.

I had a friend once who started living her life in a way that I found immoral. That caused a gap which ended our friendship. I view France the same way. They can't remain our "friends" and we shouldn't sell our souls to number them among our allies.

If a nobody named Galloway was getting $370,000 pounds a year, I wonder how much Chiraq was getting? Millions, I bet. I bet Villepig had his hand out, too.

7 posted on 04/23/2003 10:00:39 AM PDT by Defiant (Iraqtion: That swelling pride that results from raising the staff of freedom.)

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