STATEMENT ON IRAQ
BY M. DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN,
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

FRENCH MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

APRIL 10, 2003

With the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, a dark era is drawing to a close. And we welcome it. We are at a decisive moment in Iraq's history and I want to believe the end of the dictatorship signals a new hope for the Iraqis, a hope of freedom and of development. I am thinking of the suffering they have endured and are still experiencing through the war. The priority today is to address the urgent humanitarian needs. I am thinking too of the Arab peoples, their worries and their often mixed feelings of frustration, injustice and humiliation. I hope the fighting ends as quickly as possible so that Iraq, with the support of the whole international community, can get down to the task of reconstruction with due regard for her unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty. Together we must now build peace in Iraq and for France this has to mean the United Nations having a central role. Together we must build peace throughout the region and this can be done only through the determined search for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.