US praises France’s Sarkozy on Darfur
June 22, 2007 (PARIS) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy has helped create a better climate between the United States and Europe and could help a diplomatic effort to support Iraq, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried told a newspaper.
Fried’s comments come ahead of a visit to France by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who will join a meeting of the International Contact Group on Sudan/Darfur and hold talks with visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Relations between Washington and Paris were badly damaged by disagreements over the U.S.-led war in Iraq, which was strongly opposed by France. But both sides have tried for improvement.
Fried praised Sarkozy, who was elected last month, and new Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
“Everyone has been impressed by the energy shown by President Sarkozy, Kouchner and their teams to push certain issues forward,” he said.
“Everything that Sarkozy and his government have done in foreign policy recently, the proposal on Darfur and the proposal on Kosovo at the G8, have been quite good,” he said.
Washington has been pressing for more action to end the violence in Darfur, which international experts estimate has killed 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes. Sudan puts the death toll at 9,000.
Aside from Darfur, Fried said he hoped France would support efforts to stabilize Iraq, even if there was no question of its sending troops to the region.
“We would like it if the French did what they could to help Iraq,” he said. “We’re not asking France to send soldiers. That won’t happen. The effort could be on training Iraqi forces and on diplomatic work so the Iraqi government is not isolated.”
He also hoped Paris would help maintain “strong policies” towards Iran and Syria “so that Iran doesn’t sabotage everything” and “Syria stops making things more difficult”.
But he offered reassurance that military action against Iran, which is strongly opposed by European governments including the French, was not what Washington wanted.
“We take the problems associated with the military option seriously. We haven’t taken that option off the table but we know that it includes many risks. So let’s work on non-military options,” Fried said.
“We’ve been working with the French for two years and they have been quite firm.”
(Reuters)