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We were kept in the dark over deal with Libya, says France
By Henry Samuel in Paris
(Filed: 23/12/2003)
France congratulated Britain and America yesterday for persuading Libya to surrender its weapons of mass destruction and admitted it had been kept in the dark throughout the talks.
Dominique de Villepin, the foreign minister, took his hat off to London and Washington's "exemplary" diplomatic efforts over the past few months that led to the Libyan leader Col Gaddafi's surprise announcement on Friday, calling it a victory for "the entire international community".
But he was forced to admit in Le Figaro that France knew nothing of the nine months of secret negotiations.
"We were not kept informed," M de Villepin said. His disclosure underlined the continuing mistrust in relations between the English-speaking powers and France, which made much of its opposition to war in Iraq.
M de Villepin sought to gloss over the differences, describing the relationship as one of "extremely active and fertile co-operation".
His words contradicted those of Michele Alliot-Marie, defence minister, who claimed on Sunday that France was "perfectly informed of the negotiations" several months ago.
Bizarrely, Mme Alliot-Marie denied there was any discrepancy between the two accounts, suggesting the foreign ministry was not as involved as her department.
M de Villepin rejected suggestions that France lost face by being kept out of the diplomatic loop, arguing that it was a perfect example of his vision of an interdependent, multi-polar world at work.
"It is only natural that those who are best placed at a given moment to use their capabilities to the common good do so, as long as their action is of an unquestionably multilateral nature." He cited the recent diplomatic success of France, Britain and Germany in helping to persuade Iran to open its nuclear facilities to inspection.
He faced much the same difficulty as domestic critics of George W Bush and Tony Blair in seeking to explain away the apparent link between the effect of the allied invasion of Iraq and Col Gaddafi's sudden surrender.
Even the normally pro-government Le Figaro described the Libyan deal as a "semi-failure" for France, which has been against tough action against rogue states.
Annick Lepetit, the Socialist party spokesman, said it signified "the isolation of France and French diplomacy in an area where it is traditionally influential".
In a further sign that France is still paying the price of its anti-war stance in Iraq, one of President Chirac's closest aides yesterday accused certain members of the American administration of seeking to "isolate" Paris on the international scene.
France is acutely sensitive to hints that it is being punished for its stance on Iraq. The latest target is the French aim to host an international experimental thermo-nuclear reactor in Cadarache.
Pierre Lellouche, the French representative at the talks, said: "If at the end of the day the difficulties turn out not to be technical but political, we'll all have to draw our own conclusions."
He added: "I know very well that within the American administration some people intend to pursue a deliberate strategy of isolating France."
Negotiations ended without agreement after America, along with South Korea, threw its weight behind Japan's bid to host the reactor. Russia and China voted for France.
Commentators also agreed that the deal has weakened France's hand in compensation talks over the 1989 bombing of a French passenger plane that killed 170.
20 December 2003: Libya agrees to dismantle all its WMD
15 December 2003: Nations opposed to war hail US for seizing dictator
18 October 2003: Britain unites with France and Germany over Iran's nuclear crisis
14 September 2003: France accused as UN summit on Iraq stalls
Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright
We were kept in the dark over deal with Libya, says France
By Henry Samuel in Paris
(Filed: 23/12/2003)
France congratulated Britain and America yesterday for persuading Libya to surrender its weapons of mass destruction and admitted it had been kept in the dark throughout the talks.
Dominique de Villepin, the foreign minister, took his hat off to London and Washington's "exemplary" diplomatic efforts over the past few months that led to the Libyan leader Col Gaddafi's surprise announcement on Friday, calling it a victory for "the entire international community".
But he was forced to admit in Le Figaro that France knew nothing of the nine months of secret negotiations.
"We were not kept informed," M de Villepin said. His disclosure underlined the continuing mistrust in relations between the English-speaking powers and France, which made much of its opposition to war in Iraq.
M de Villepin sought to gloss over the differences, describing the relationship as one of "extremely active and fertile co-operation".
His words contradicted those of Michele Alliot-Marie, defence minister, who claimed on Sunday that France was "perfectly informed of the negotiations" several months ago.
Bizarrely, Mme Alliot-Marie denied there was any discrepancy between the two accounts, suggesting the foreign ministry was not as involved as her department.
M de Villepin rejected suggestions that France lost face by being kept out of the diplomatic loop, arguing that it was a perfect example of his vision of an interdependent, multi-polar world at work.
"It is only natural that those who are best placed at a given moment to use their capabilities to the common good do so, as long as their action is of an unquestionably multilateral nature." He cited the recent diplomatic success of France, Britain and Germany in helping to persuade Iran to open its nuclear facilities to inspection.
He faced much the same difficulty as domestic critics of George W Bush and Tony Blair in seeking to explain away the apparent link between the effect of the allied invasion of Iraq and Col Gaddafi's sudden surrender.
Even the normally pro-government Le Figaro described the Libyan deal as a "semi-failure" for France, which has been against tough action against rogue states.
Annick Lepetit, the Socialist party spokesman, said it signified "the isolation of France and French diplomacy in an area where it is traditionally influential".
In a further sign that France is still paying the price of its anti-war stance in Iraq, one of President Chirac's closest aides yesterday accused certain members of the American administration of seeking to "isolate" Paris on the international scene.
France is acutely sensitive to hints that it is being punished for its stance on Iraq. The latest target is the French aim to host an international experimental thermo-nuclear reactor in Cadarache.
Pierre Lellouche, the French representative at the talks, said: "If at the end of the day the difficulties turn out not to be technical but political, we'll all have to draw our own conclusions."
He added: "I know very well that within the American administration some people intend to pursue a deliberate strategy of isolating France."
Negotiations ended without agreement after America, along with South Korea, threw its weight behind Japan's bid to host the reactor. Russia and China voted for France.
Commentators also agreed that the deal has weakened France's hand in compensation talks over the 1989 bombing of a French passenger plane that killed 170.
20 December 2003: Libya agrees to dismantle all its WMD
15 December 2003: Nations opposed to war hail US for seizing dictator
18 October 2003: Britain unites with France and Germany over Iran's nuclear crisis
14 September 2003: France accused as UN summit on Iraq stalls
Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright
