New proposal for the peaceful disarmament of Iraq

Germany, France and Russia present new proposal for the peaceful disarmament of Iraq

Chancellor Schröder and President Chirac met in Berlin on February 24 for an informal exchange of views. Their meeting focused on a new Germano-Franco-Russian proposal for the peaceful disarmament of Iraq submitted to the UN Security Council the same day. The objective of their joint stance is to achieve the disarmament of Iraq by peaceful means and this will continue to be the case, Schröder noted. Both Schröder and Chirac expressed their rejection of a US, British and Spanish proposal for a new UN resolution on Iraq.

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder met in Berlin on February 24 with French President Jacques Chirac for an informal exchange of views. The meeting was also attended by Foreign Ministers Joschka Fischer and Dominique de Villepin.

Their talks focused on a new proposal for the peaceful disarmament of Iraq submitted by Germany, France, and Russia to the UN Security Council that same day. A second talking point was a proposal put forward by the United States, Great Britain, and Spain for a new UN resolution on Iraq stating that Iraq had passed up its last opportunity to disarm. Both Schröder and Chirac expressed their rejection of the latter proposal.

Schröder said they had examined the proposal and discussed it in detail but that it had not given them cause to depart from their joint position. "This position is that it is possible to achieve disarmament of Iraq by peaceful means - and we will do everything we can to promote this." Chirac commented that there was no reason to switch from a logic of peace to a logic of war but added that Iraq would of course have to cooperate unconditionally and to destroy its Al Samoud 2 missiles.

Chirac went on to say that the new Germano-Franco-Russian proposal is aimed at the elimination of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, adding that there is no time limit on inspections. "Only the inspectors themselves will be able to decide when the imposition of a limit of this kind on their work would make sense and what it should look like," Chirac noted. The French President reiterated his opposition to a new UN resolution.

Regular informal meetings

Today's meeting was the twelfth in a series of regular informal meetings between Germany and France agreed on in early 2001. This informal exchange of views between the Chancellor, the President, and the Foreign Ministers supplements semiannual intergovernmental consultations. The informal nature of these meetings promotes an open exchange of views on international, European and bilateral issues.

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