The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
599.
In remarks
to the press, Mr Dominique de Villepin, the French
Foreign
Minister,
condemned unilateral use of military force and stated that, as long
as
progress
was being made through inspections, France saw no reason to
choose
military
intervention.
600.
In his press
conference after the meeting, Mr de Villepin stated that Iraq
could not
be
separated from other proliferation issues, and what was done on
Iraq:
“… must
apply to all the other crises. If war is the only way to resolve
the problem,
we’re
immediately forced down a blind alley. The international community
must
clearly
demonstrate initiative and imagination. We must also maintain
international
unity.
Unilateral military intervention must be perceived as a victory for
the maxim
‘might is
right’, an attack against the primacy of the law and international
morality.”204
601.
Mr de
Villepin stated that the international community had chosen
inspections,
and Iraq
had to understand that it was “high time that she co‑operated
actively”. Iraq’s
weapons of
mass destruction programmes had “essentially been halted, even
frozen”.
In his
view, Iraq could be disarmed by peaceful means.
602.
In response to
questions, Mr de Villepin stated that there was a choice
between
continuing
with co‑operation and “military intervention because we are
impatient”.
France
believed that “nothing today justifies envisaging military action”.
The inspectors
had been
working for “fewer than 60 days” and progress was “satisfactory”,
although
there was
more that could be done to seek Iraq’s active
co‑operation.
603.
Mr de
Villepin raised questions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of
any US
unilateral
military action, and warned of the potential consequences for a
united Iraq
and a
stable and safe region in the Middle East. France’s view was that
it would “take
us down
a path where we would have no control over the gains and
benefits”.
604.
Asked if
France would use her veto, Mr de Villepin responded that
President
Chirac had
“said from the outset” that France would not “join in military
action” that did
not
have:
“… the
support of the international community, UN support. Moreover
we
believe
military intervention would be the worst solution, and that the use
of force
can only be
a last resort, implying that all other avenues have been exhausted.
If
that point
is reached, France, as a Permanent Member of the Security Council,
will
shoulder
her responsibilities, remaining true to her principles … so long as
progress
can be made
through co‑operation with inspectors, there is no reason to choose
…
military
intervention …”
605.
In his memoir,
Mr Straw wrote that Mr de Villepin’s comments about the
unilateral
use of
force “had effectively denounced the US”.205
That had
“soured relations especially
with Colin
[Powell]”.
204
French
Embassy, 20 January 2003, Iraq –
Meeting of the UNSC ministerial‑level meeting on the
fight
against
terrorism – Press conference given by Mr de Villepin, New
York.
205
Straw
J. Last Man
Standing: Memoirs of a Political Survivor. Macmillan,
2012.
106