New Delhi
21 December 2007
An invitation to United States President George Bush's ranch in
Crawford, Texas, may be reserved only for America's closest allies, and French
President Nicolas Sarkozy may have earned that label after his recent visit there, but
Sarkozy's colleague Bernard Kouchner wants to set the record straight.
President Bush may have called Mr Sarkozy "a friend" during their August sojourn in
Crawford but visiting French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Bernard Kouchner
reminded reporters that his country is "democratic but not aligned." And, he hastened to
add, France would like India to be one too.
"We are friends of the US but we are not following all the decisions of the US," Mr
Kouchner said, "We are free." His remarks come at a time when the buzz in the aircraft
industry and in European diplomatic circles is that American pressure led to India
cancelling the Eurocopter deal.
Speaking in fluent English, the gastroenterologist-turned-politician said that India and
France were "detached democracies" and they shared a common approach to many
international issues of the day. "We are thinking in the same direction, looking at the
same perspective," he recalled.
An immediate point of departure between the French and the American positions can be
seen in the handling of Iran. "I'm not in favour of war," Mr Kouchner said, reminding
reporters of his credentials as a peacenik. Mr Kouchner, who co-founded Medecins Sans
Frontieres, won the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize.
Alluding to a "new style" in French diplomacy, Mr Kouchner said: "We had to fight
against this idea of having a solution by bombing." He went on to suggest that the
French Government headed by President Nicolas Sarkozy has since resolved its
"dilemma" on Iran and decided to find "another way" to peace.
Referring to the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report of the US, which said that Iran
had halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003, Mr Kouchner said wryly: "They
(Americans) were slow to say so." He, however, clarified that Iran did not stop
enrichment and that France, the US, the UK, Russia, China and Germany will continue
discussions on the next course of action.
"Do we have to push them (Iranians) to stop? Yes. Will it be possible? I don't know," Mr
Kouchner said in response to a question. He is nevertheless happy that France talked to
Iran and is "still talking" to that country. "Is it a new perspective? Not for us," he said,
hoping that the US will start talking to Iran too.
"I hope Americans will also start talking to Iran. In a way they are already talking to
Iranians on Iraq but at least they have started talking," he said. "We told American
friends to negotiate," he said, adding that France was never "hard and tough" on Iran,
unlike the Bush Administration in the US.
In response to another question on the qualitative difference in France's ties with China
as compared to India, Mr Kouchner said that China is an important country to reckon with
in the international arena but he personally found that "India in a way is naturally closer
to our heart because of democracy."
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