Cablegate: France Welcomes Formation of Iraq Transitional

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS PARIS 002976

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL IZ FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE WELCOMES FORMATION OF IRAQ TRANSITIONAL
GOVERNMENT

REF: STATE 79017

1. (U) Poloff delivered reftel demarche April 29 to MFA Iraq
Desk Officer Bernard Chappedelaine, who assured us that
France welcomed formation of the Iraq Transitional Government
(ITG) and would say so in a public statement later that day.
The statement, issued at the MFA's noon press briefing April
29 (informal Embassy translation below), notes positively
that ITG formation is a step in Iraq's political transition,
and acknowledges efforts to make the government as
representative of all Iraqis as possible and calls on the new
government to promote inter-community dialogue.

2. (U) Informal Embassy translation of the MFA's April 29
statement: "France welcomes the much awaited announcement of
the formation in Iraq of the transitional government based on
the January 30 elections, a new stage in the political
transition under way in that country. France congratulates
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari. It takes note of the
continuing efforts to confer on the government the broadest
possible representativity. It calls on the government to
promote dialogue between all the communities. It hopes that
the transitional government will be able to move toward the
effective exercise by Iraq of its sovereignty within the
framework traced by Resolution 1546." End Embassy
translation.

3. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.
ROSENBLATT

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