Chirac reaffirms French solidarity with US

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Chirac reaffirms French solidarity with US

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The French-US solidarity is anchored in the history and the future, French President Jacques Chirac said Monday when receiving a delegation of the Franco-American Friendship Caucus of the United States Congress.

"Our two nations have always been together when the essential was at stake," said Chirac's spokeswoman when briefing the meeting.

Chaired by the Republican representative Amory Houghton, the Franco-American Friendship Caucus was created last October amid tensions between the two countries over the Iraqi war.

Chirac said he believed that "the constitution of the friendship caucus is a good initiative that allows the strengthening of friendship between France and the United States," said his spokeswoman.

For his part, Houghton said it is very important for the United States to bring its relations with France back to the good terms of before the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

He added that the Paris-Washington relations are soured by the Iraqi crisis and called on both to make efforts to improve the situation.

He noted that the fact that his delegation was received by the highest authorities in France "showed the importance of our relations."

"What we should try to do is to reestablish the relation that we have had during more than 200 years," he added.

The US delegation was also received by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin on Monday. Both sides expressed their willingness to find good solutions to the Iraqi problem during the two-hour meeting, according to a spokesman of the French Foreign Ministry.

Commenting the meeting as "conducted in a friendly and constructive atmosphere," the spokesman said the two sides talked about all issues concerning bilateral relations as well as major issues of international actuality.

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