France pledges more support

The French government at the weekend reiterated its readiness to offer logistical support for an eventual peacekeeping operation in DRC. “Therefore, France’s commitment is very strong,” Radio France Internationale quoted French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine as saying during a meeting with DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila in Paris on Saturday. “France’s commitment to a solution is very clear,” Vedrine said. “Notably through the French proposal, which is already old, I mean a big conference to resolve all problems of the region.” “Of course, this conference will be held at the appropriate time, but pending this conference, there is the need to actually implement the Lusaka accords,” he added. He said his country’s bilateral relations with DRC had also “started improving again in quite good conditions”. President Kabila, for his part, expressed gratitude to France for the “courageous” position it adopted at last week’s UN Security Council meeting on the DRC, RFI reported. “The statement made by French Cooperation Minister Charles Josselin was an outstanding and solemn one, and for the first time we, from the DRC, were very happy that things were said as clearly as they were,” he said. “In other words, there is an aggressor, and the aggressors must leave the territory that they are occupying.” He said DRC’s relations with France must improve, “initially in the bilateral cooperation sector”. “Also, there is need for France and other big powers to make their voices heard in order to enforce the UN Charter,” he added.