I am providing the full text of this declaration since I could only find it via a subscription link to the Financial Times. After denying that such a plan was in the works, France President Chirac made the following statement.
The following is a translation of the full text of a joint declaration from Russia, Germany and France issued by French President Jacques Chirac on Monday after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on Sunday."Russia, Germany and France, in close coordination, reaffirm that disarming Iraq, in accordance with the relevant resolutions since U.N. Resolution 687, is the common objective of the international community and must be achieved as soon as
possible.
At least we agree on the goal – disarming Iraq.
"There is a debate on how this should be done. This debate must continue in the spirit of friendship and respect that characterises our relations with the United States and other countries. Any solution must be inspired by the principles of the United Nations charter as were recently quoted by the secretary-general Kofi Annan.
I wouldn’t characterize our current relations with France as one of respect. And Schröder seems to be doing his best to bring German-American relations down as far as possible. When UN resolution 1441 was agreed to last year, all of the members involved were clear that Saddam had 60 days to take steps. To his credit, even though he supports more inspections, UN inspector Hans Blix made it clear that Iraq was not cooperating and was thus in violation of resolution 1441. On February 5, Colin Powell revealed some recordings that made it absolutely clear the Iraq was deliberately hiding illegal weapons from the inspectors.
"U.N. Resolution 1441, adopted unanimously by the U.N. Security Council, provides a framework of which the potential has not yet been fully exploited.
The resolution made it clear that Iraq must cooperate and disarm in 60 days (which have since passed) or suffer severe consequences. This nonsense about “not yet been fully expoited” can be translated as give Iraq 12 more years.
"The inspections led by the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have already produced results. Russia, Germany and France favour the continuation of the inspections and a substantial reinforcement of their human and technical capacities through all possible means and in liaison with the inspectors, in the framework of the U.N. resolution 1441.
Results? Yes, the UN inspection team has concluded that Iraq is not cooperating in violation of resolution 1441. Yes, the UN inspection team refused to interview Iraqi dissidents and turned them over to Iraq’s ‘police’ force. We don’t need more UN results – we need UN resolve.
"There is still an alternative to war. The use of force can only be considered as a last resort. Russia, Germany and France are determined to ensure that everything possible is done to disarm Iraq peacefully.
This means Germany and France are scared that the US and their current allies will go ahead despite them. And given the growing economic ties between these countries and Russia, they’ve convinced Russia to stand with them.
"For the inspections to be completed, it is up to Iraq to actively cooperate with the IAEA and the UNMOVIC. Iraq must fully accept its responsibilities.
Or what? More resolutions? I’m sure Chirac didn’t intend the irony, but this language is similar to that of resolution 1441.
"Russia, Germany and France note that the position they are expressing is similar to that of a large number of countries within the Security Council."
Ah, the main point of the message. Russia and France have veto power in the UN security council and Germany is currently one of the rotating members. Looks like a second UN resolution may not happen. Since UN resolution 1441 gives international approval to such an attack, a second resolution wasn’t really needed. However, it would have been very helpful to some coalition partners (e.g, Tony Blair). It will be very interesting to see if the US goes ahead and asks for a second resolution and forces a vote. If France and Russia veto it, it may be the end of the UN given that many nations are going to disarm Iraq even if a few other countries object. If France vetoes it, but Russia abstains (my guess), the UN may survive. In this case, I suspect the US will sponsor a UN amendment to give France’s veto power to India – if the UN refuses, America will withdraw from the UN and the UN will join the League of Nations.
