*EPF109 03/26/01
Transcript: Middle East Raised in U.S.-French Talks
(Talks include Iraq and Middle East peace) (540)

Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the situation in the Middle East and the targetting of UN sanctions against Iraq were part of the discussions with France's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hubert Vedrine at the State Department on March 26.

"The foreign minister and I discussed how we can ensure that the U.N. sanctions are targeted at the Iraqi regime's attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction, while sparing the people of Iraq from any suffering," Powell said.

The talks also addressed the issue of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. "We agreed that it is essential that the violence come to an end," he said. He said they also discussed economic hardships facing Palestinians and what could be done to improve the situation.

Following is the text of the Middle East excerpts from the joint press briefing given by Secretary of State Colin Powell and France's Foreign Minister Vedrine on March 26:

(begin excerpts)

The Middle East was high on our agenda. In that regard, we agree that Iraq must honor its U.N. obligations. The foreign minister and I discussed how we can ensure that the U.N. sanctions are targeted at the Iraqi regime's attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction, while sparing the people of Iraq from any suffering.

Moreover, we're obviously concerned about violence between Israel and the Palestinians. We agreed that it is essential that the violence come to an end. The foreign minister and I also discussed the financial hardships facing the Palestinian people, and what can be done to improve this situation. The European Union has provided generous budgetary support to the Palestinian Authority, which we appreciate.........

Q My question is for both of you. In regard to relations with Iran, it seems that France and United States are not following the same track in sanctions, ILSA, and so on. My question is that, first of all, did you talk about Iran in your discussions? And second, how do you want to reconcile your different positions toward Iran?

SEC. POWELL: We did not have occasion to talk about Iran in our discussions this morning. We will have more discussions later this evening and perhaps we can discuss it at that point. So we did not try to get into that at this time.

Q For Secretary Powell, I was wondering if you could tell us whether there was a discussion of what I understand is the French support for the U.S. and Britain ending enforcement of the no-fly zone over Iraq, and what response you may have given to him on that?

SEC. POWELL: We discussed Iraq at some length, but our concentration today was on the -- what I have used with this audience before, the "first basket." And that has to do with the U.N. sanctions regime directed toward weapons of mass destruction. So all of our discussion this morning was on that and not on the no-fly zone...

(end excerpts)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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