PARIS, Feb 5: French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero on Tuesday refused to confirm a story in Le Monde according to which the UK signed a secret agreement with France on Jan 7 accepting the presence of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe at the Feb 20-21 Franco-African summit.

Britain has subsequently protested against Mr Mugabe’s expected presence at the summit.

Three other EU member countries, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, have also told France they are opposed to the visit.

According to the Le Monde story, the French and British foreign ministers, Dominique de Villepin and Jack Straw, signed a secret accord on Jan 7 according to which Mr Mugabe’s visit to Paris was accepted by the British in exchange for French support for a British proposal that EU sanctions be maintained against Zimbabwe

The foreign ministry spokesman said: “As far as we’re concerned, we are engaged in discussions on this issue with all of our European partners, and this since our General Affairs Council of Jan 27.”