French official: No anti-Americanism in France
Sunday, March 2, 2003 Posted: 1912 GMT ( 3:12 AM HKT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Despite France's staunch refusal to support the United States in its plans for a possible war against Iraq, there is "no anti-Americanism" in France, the French foreign minister said Sunday.
The two nations merely have a difference of opinion over how to handle Iraq's failures to rid itself of any weapons of mass destruction banned by the United Nations, Dominique de Villepin told ABC's "This Week."
"There is passion between our two countries," Villepin said. "We have -- we may have our own visions, but you see when you look at numbers, statistics here in France, we see that there is no anti-Americanism in France."
Toppling the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is taking the goal of disarmament too far, he said.
"We stick to the objectives of the international community in [United Nations] Resolution 1441, which is the disarmament of Iraq," Villepin said.
He said as long as U.N. weapons inspectors are reporting progress, as indicated by Iraq's destruction of several Al Samoud 2 missiles this weekend, there is no need for war.
"If we were to pursue regime change, there would be so many countries included," he said. "Where would we stop?" The use of force should be the last resort, he said.
U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix told reporters Friday that Iraq's decision to destroy the banned missiles was "a very significant piece of real disarmament."
The same day, in his latest progress report to the U.N. Security Council, Blix called the country's overall effort to disarm "very limited so far."
After U.N. weapons inspectors re-entered Iraq in late November, world leaders have gathered more information about the extent of the nation's weapons programs, Villepin said.
For instance, Iraq has provided a list of 83 chemical experts, who now must be interrogated, he said.
Villepin dodged the question of whether France would use its veto if a second U.N. resolution is introduced in the Security Council by the United States, Britain and Spain. For passage, such a resolution would need nine votes, and no vetoes by the body's permanent members.
Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told ABC that the United States would "stay the course" in the debate on Iraq.
"We hope that support will be there if it comes to a second resolution," Warner said.
Russia and China, permanent council members along with the United States, Britain and France, also have not supported using military force against Iraq.
France has not ruled out eventually using military action against Iraq if the inspections show that Iraq has not cooperated.
Villepin said France's stance was built largely on public opinion against a war.
"I love the United States. I love the people of the United States," he said. "But the question is, 'How do we deal with the crisis of proliferation?'"
In stressing the longtime ties between the United States and France, Villepin pointed out that French President Jacques Chirac was the first head of state to formally visit the United States after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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