October 16, 2002
L'ORIENT-LE JOUR: In the past, some have criticized France for sparing Iraq, for commercial reasons. Do you believe, for your part, that the new Gulf war might be largely motivated by oil interests?
JACQUES CHIRAC: Nobody can ignore the fact that the Middle East is a major area as far as oil and gas reserves are concerned. it accounts today for 65% of world reserves and this proportion is increasing, due to the foreseeable depletion of reserves outside the Gulf. Iraq, for its part, holds about 10% of world reserves.
That being said, the problem posed by Iraq to the international community is not about its oil capacities. What is at stake is how to answer the potential threat Iraq represents with the risk of proliferation of WMD. Baghdad's regime did use such weapons in the past. Today, a number of evidences may lead to think that, over the past four years, in the absence of international inspectors, this country has continued armament programs. Proliferation of WMD constitutes a threat for the planet at large. our security depends on our capacity to deal collectively with this major risk. On this topic, no more than on others, our policy is not to spare Iraq: we have always called for the strict implementation of UN resolutions.
I want to stress that a number of countries trade with Iraq, including, for that matter, the United States. French-Iraqi trade takes place within the strict framework of the UN security council resolutions and we are especially vigilant regarding the respect of this legal apparatus. In any case, Iraq occupies a minor place in our foreign trade. In 2001, Iraq ranked number 53 as a customer and 39 as a supplier of France, which represents 0.2% of our exports and 0.3 % of our imports.
L'ORIENT-LE JOUR: What would you suggest to reinforce the efficiency and credibility of UN inspections in Iraq?
JACQUES CHIRAC: The immediate unfettered and unconditional access of inspectors to all sites is the indispensable guarantee of efficiency and credibility of UN inspections. This demand is explicitly written in all existing resolutions. Iraq says it accepts all the inspector's rights, without condition, and the practical arrangements of the resumption of the inspections have been clarified in Vienna. If however Mr. Blix and Mr. Al Baradei think that a number of questions should get additional precision, that supplementary guarantees should be obtained on some points, we are very well disposed to examine their demands and take their opinion into account within the framework of the Security Council, which is the only legitimate framework to deal with the Iraqi problem.
L'ORIENT-LE JOUR: What international repercussion would have an international war on Iraq?
JACQUES CHIRAC: Our responsibility is to look after the stability of the Middle east. With the Iraqi crisis, it is the whole region which is threatened. The Middle east is at the core of the bow of crisis stretching from eastern Mediterranean to South West Asia: a zone where political, economic and social fault lines are many. We all bear in mind the multiple conflicts, whether internal or international, which have shaken this region over the past fifty years.
At a moment when the deadlock in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is fuelling frustration and injustice feelings amongst the peoples of the region, and when we are engaged in a long and exacting fight against terrorism, we must be vigilant and do everything possible to win the bet on security with peace.
L'ORIENT-LE JOUR: In your opinion, is there a direct link between the Iraqi affair and the terrorism dossier, i.e. the Bin Ladin trail?
JACQUES CHIRAC: To the best of my knowledge, no proof has been found, or at the very least, been made official, of a link between Iraq and Al Qa'ida. Even if some terrorists may have found a haven in Iraq, one should not mix up all topics. The first objective of the international community's action regarding Iraq should be disarmament. However, one cannot exclude that terrorist groups may use the Iraqi question as a pretext for new actions and even as a propaganda theme.
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