May 31, 2002	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 18,1423

PARIS, May 30: In one of the first declarations of Middle East policy since the naming of a new government, France says that it wants to do “everything possible” to bring about peace in the region, but that henceforth it could propose its own unilateral solutions to the Middle East conflict.

That is, in any case, the view of the country’s new foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, who let it be known, in an interview with French daily Le Monde, that France “has its own view on the solutions to be brought to certain crises”, especially on the Middle East conflict.

Queried as to what Mr de Villepin meant when he evoked the possibility of a French go-it-alone solution to the crisis - a position which differs considerably from France’s previous position on the issue, a foreign ministry spokesman noted simply that “at this stage, all I can do is reiterate the determination by France to work in association with all its partners, beginning with those in Europe, but also with all the other actors in the international community.

Indeed, the principal subject of discussion during US President George Bush’s recent visit to France was the post-Sept 11 world, especially France’s place in eradicating international terrorism, something that Mr Chirac feels his country did not do very well with Mr Jospin’s government in power.

Within this context, Mr Chirac has offered Washington cooperation in the hunt against Taliban and Al Qaeda.