Daily press briefing by Ministry Spokesperson
Statements made by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Spokesperson (excerpts)
(Paris, 1 September 2008)
[Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official. (http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr )]
RUSSIAN FEDERATION/DEATH OF JOURNALIST MAGOMED YEVLOYEV
We were appalled to learn of the death of Magomed Yevloyev, the owner of ingushetya.ru, an independent news website specialized in the Caucasus, in Nazran, Ingushetia.
We hope the investigation under way will shed all possible light on this case.
We are deeply concerned by the attacks against the freedom of the press and, more generally, by the violence in the already unstable region of the North Caucasus.
IRAQ
France welcomes the transfer of control of al-Anbar province to the Iraqi authorities. It is the 11th of Iraq’s 18 provinces to have experienced such a transfer of responsibility.
This decision is all the more significant in that the region has experienced particularly strong tensions in recent years.
The Iraqi authorities’ assumption of their security responsibilities is a major prerequisite for the stabilization of Iraq.
It is an important part of the dynamic of restoring full sovereignty to the Iraqis.
France strongly encourages all the parties to continue on this path.
(…)
MIDDLE EAST
Q. - What is France’s position on the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister’s proposal to send Arab troops to the Gaza strip to help quell the violence and bring a halt to the Arab-Israeli conflict?
During the International Donors Conference for the Palestinian State held in Paris on 17 December 2007, we said that France would propose the deployment, in due time and when the proper conditions were in place, of an international force to bolster the Palestinian security services.
In this regard, the Egyptian Foreign Minister’s proposal is one of the options to be considered. We are examining it, and the principle, very attentively and positively. (…)./.