France and Lebanon come out for an active participation of the UN in rendering aid to Iraq

Paris and Beirut have confirmed the necessity of an active participation of the United Nations in rendering political, economic and humanitarian aid to Iraq. This was stated at the Lebanese-French negotiation last Sunday during the visit to Lebanon by French Minister of Foreign Affairs Domenic Villepin.

According to the official information of President Emil Lahud's office, the negotiations in the Lebanese capital have confirmed the coincidence of the positions of the two sides on all main problems concerning the Middle East settlement and the solution of the Iraqi crisis.

During the meeting with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Emil Lahud stressed the invariability of Lebanon's position with regard to the priority role of the United Nations in solving conflict situations on the globe and in maintaining law and order in the world.

As was pointed out during the negotiations by the Lebanese President, the importance of the earliest solution of the Iraqi problem is that "the anarchy and the collapse of the state institutions in Iraq may negatively affect the future peace in the whole of the Middle East." In his opinion, the further continuation of the aggression against Iraq will lead to the growth of terrorism in the region.

Touching upon the Middle East problem, the sides expressed the conviction of the necessity of the earliest adoption of the "road map" by the conflicting sides and its realisation with the aim of peacefully settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.