France Not Envisions to Use Veto on Iraqi Crisis: French PM

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, February 19, 2003

France Not Envisions to Use Veto on Iraqi Crisis: French PM

French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said Tuesday that France does not envision to use its veto at the United Nations Security Council on the Iraqi crisis at present.

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French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said Tuesday that France does not envision to use its veto at the United Nations Security Council on the Iraqi crisis at present.

As "a major element of our strategy, the veto could be used atan moment of disagreement to express a blockage," said Raffarin following a meeting with French parliamentary leaders on the Iraqiissue.

"We are not in that logic today," he said, "We are seeking a majority (in the UN Security Council" with which we will win alliances."

"We are not in a logic of isolation, or blockage. On the contrary, we are in a logic of rally and the position of France ismore and more supported now," he said.

"We witnessed yesterday at the European Union summit that the position of France is more and more shared. We are in a strategy that consists of maintaining the unity of the international community in order that the security council could act in unanimity. That is the line of France," he said.

The French parliament will hold a debate on the Iraqi issue inthe coming week.

France has been firmly in favor of continued UN weapons inspections to disarm Iraq, which annoyed the United States and Britain that want to launch military intervention to end the crisis.

The EU emergency summit in Brussels on Monday ended with a joint declaration saying war could be an option, but only as a last resort and UN arms inspections could not continue indefinitely if Iraq failed to provide full cooperation.

France, backed by Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg and Greece in opposing any rush to war, insisted that only the UN inspectors could determine when the process should end.

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