France, Germany Resist Calls for Iraq War

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 23, 2003

France, Germany Resist Calls for Iraq War

Countering blunt talk of war by the United States Bush administration, France and Germany on Wednesday insisted that they are committed to a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis.

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Countering blunt talk of war by the Bush administration, France and Germany on Wednesday insisted that they are committed to a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis.

"War is not inevitable," French President Jacques Chirac told a historic joint session of the French and German parliaments. "The only framework for a legitimate solution is the United Nations."

The statement made during a ceremony marking 40 years of reconciliation between the once-hostile nations came as the top U.S. military commander declared American forces could remain in a high state of readiness for months if necessary.

But Gen. Richard Myers, U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that American troops were nevertheless poised for action.

"We're ready now. The Iraqi regime should have no doubt," he said in Washington.

After a joint meeting of the French and German Cabinets, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the two countries "are entirely in agreement to harmonize our positions more closely in favor of a peaceful solution of the Iraqi crisis."

Chirac said both nations agreed that any decision to attack Iraq should be made only by the U.N. Security Council, after U.N. weapons inspectors have reported their findings.

"For us, war is always the proof of failure and the worst of solutions, so everything must be done to avoid it," Chirac said.

France, one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, hinted this week that it could use its veto power on the issue, while Schroeder has made plain that Germany will refuse to back an Iraq war resolution in the council.

Source: Agencies

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