Daily press briefing by Ministry Deputy Spokesperson

FRANCE/US

Foreign and European Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner is travelling to Brégançon today to attend the President’s meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Following the meeting, he and Ms Rice will return to Paris aboard the same plane.

GEORGIA

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is sparing no effort to achieve the effective implementation of the agreement reached by the Russian and Georgian Presidents during the mediation effort conducted by the President of the Republic on 12 August.

During a telephone conversation on the 13th, the President asked President Dmitri Medvedev for clarification on reports of Russian tank movements. M. Kouchner made the same request of his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. The Russian authorities assured them that the Russian Federation would respect its commitments.

Our ambassadors in Moscow and Tbilisi are also remaining in constant contact with the Russian and Georgian authorities.

Our efforts are also directed towards the swift implementation of other aspects of the settlement plan.

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is in close contact with its principal partners. This afternoon, President Sarkozy will receive US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Bernard Kouchner will also attend that meeting.

At the UN, France drafted a Security Council resolution that incorporates the agreement reached by Russia and Georgia. A swift adoption of this resolution by the UN would reinforce the ceasefire significantly. That is why we are currently doing everything we can to gain the support of all Security Council members for this draft as quickly as possible.

Yesterday M. Kouchner chaired an extraordinary Council for General Affairs and External Relations on Georgia. It gave the EU an opportunity to endorse the six-point agreement reached in Moscow and Tbilisi. The Minister reported on the EU’s and OSCE’s mediation efforts, which the Council welcomed. The principles of Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity were recalled. The Council hailed the results of this mediation effort and endorsed the terms of the agreement concluded the previous day.

At the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE’s special Permanent Council is currently considering a draft from the Chairman-in-Office, Finland, that aims to increase OSCE personnel in South Ossetia to 100 monitors. France, like all members of the EU, strongly backs this move and will fully support the Finnish presidency’s efforts. She will propose to her partners that a decision be taken in the shortest possible time to enable this deployment to begin as quickly as possible.

Finally, an exceptional North Atlantic Council meeting of foreign ministers will be held on 19 August in Brussels to discuss the situation, as Russia and Georgia are both partners of the organization. M. Kouchner will attend the meeting.

France is also continuing her humanitarian efforts. Total French aid, not including contributions by NGOs, now amounts to €1 million. It has already begun to be distributed.

Humanitarian flights carried out by France have also repatriated 474 people, including 315 French nationals and people of 19 other nationalities, among them 71 Georgians, 17 Spaniards, 16 Belgians, 14 Italians, 11 Dutch, and 6 New Zealanders.

Q. - What’s your response to the criticism by authorities of Poland and the Baltic States concerning the ceasefire agreement in Georgia brokered by M. Sarkozy? These criticisms relate mainly to the fact that the agreement doesn’t mention the principle of Georgia’s territorial integrity.

Let me remind you that the conclusions of the General Affairs and External Relations Council yesterday hailed the agreement reached by the Georgian and Russian parties following mediation by the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

In its conclusion, the Council in fact stated that a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict in Georgia must be based on full respect for the principles of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity recognized by international law and UN Security Council resolutions.

Q. - Russian forces were still stationed Thursday in the Georgian city of Gori, where a series of explosions were heard, and returned to the Georgian port of Poti, calling into question the ceasefire in effect for two days. According to Georgia, Russia is currently “destroying” the city of Gori and the port of Poti. Any comment?

We are in the process of verifying this information. Our embassy in Tbilisi is also making inquiries into the situation, along with the Georgian authorities.

Our priority remains the immediate implementation of the ceasefire. The President and Foreign Minister reiterated this message yesterday to their Russian counterparts.

We note that by accepting the terms of the agreement of 12 August, the parties pledged to cease hostilities immediately.

GEORGIA/FRENCH HUMANITARIAN AID

A DC-10 cargo plane chartered by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs arrived in Tbilisi this morning carrying 60 tonnes of emergency relief supplies (tents, cots, blankets and staple goods) along with medical supplies. This flight is the third French humanitarian flight, following rotations by an Airbus A-340 from the Defence Ministry on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Our embassy in Tbilisi will turn over the emergency relief supplies, assembled from Ministry and Civil Protection Service stocks, to the NGO "Première Urgence", which is in charge of distributing aid to people displaced by the conflict. This shipment also includes a contribution from the French Red Cross for the ICRC teams deployed on the ground.

Our consultations with our European partners, coordinated by the European Commission, continue, so that we may better respond to the needs of the victims of this conflict.

Total French aid, not including contributions by NGOs, now amounts to €1 million. It has already begun to be distributed and could benefit several tens of thousands of displaced persons.

CAMEROON/NIGERIA/BAKASSI

France welcomes Nigeria’s transfer of authority over the western Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, an event scheduled for today under the provisions of the Greentree Agreement. Concluded on 12 June 2006, under the auspices of the UN and four witness States - Germany, the US, the UK and France - the agreement is in accordance with a judgment by the International Court of Justice on 10 October 2002.

This transfer of authority concludes the retrocession process begun in 2006. A special transitional regime will be applied for five years in this zone, notably to facilitate the retrocession for local populations.

France hails the choice made by the governments of Cameroon and Nigeria to resolve this territorial dispute peacefully. It encourages Cameroon and Nigeria to continue their work, in an atmosphere of trust, within the framework of the Greentree Agreement follow-up committee, whose next meeting will be held in New York this October.

It also wants to pay tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s commitment, which made it possible to successfully implement the Greentree Agreement.

CAMBODIA

France welcomes the decision by the investigating judges of the International Tribunal for Khmer Rouge leaders to send Douch - the director of the largest prison centre of the Khmer Rouge regime - before the court to be tried for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

This decision, the first trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders, represents a new step forward in the process of justice and the fight against impunity, an essential element of Cambodia ’s national reconstruction.

France, one of the leading contributors to the International Tribunal (€4 million), will continue to support its effort to ensure that justice is finally served.

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STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF FOUR AID WORKERS IN AFGHANISTAN

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union expresses its indignation following the killing of four staff members of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) yesterday in the Kabul area.

The Presidency condemns this cowardly act directed against workers in the service of international humanitarian action, whose neutrality was not respected.

The Presidency extends its condolences to the families and friends of the victims and assures the Afghan authorities of its solidarity and reiterates the European Union’s determined support in the fight against terrorism.

LEBANON/SYRIA

Q. - The Syrian and Lebanese Presidents decided yesterday to establish diplomatic relations between their countries. What is France’s reaction?

We are waiting until the end of the Lebanese-Syrian summit before commenting further on the results of that meeting. At that time, we will be sure to make a statement.

That said, we believe the announcement of the forthcoming establishment of diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level between Lebanon and Syria is an encouraging sign and one that is in keeping with the commitments taken by the Syrian and Lebanese Presidents on the sidelines of the Union for the Mediterranean summit.

The announcement of an exchange of ambassadors will concretize this decision and we now expect to see the delimitation of borders between Lebanon and Syria./.