France has denied a report in a British newspaper that claimed its journalists had found documents in Baghdad indicating that Paris had informed Saddam Hussein regularly of its dealings with Washington. 'There is no credibility whatsoever to this information,' Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told France-Info radio on Monday. 'Everybody knows that France never had a soft attitude towards the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.'
| That seems to involve kind of a loose definition of "everyone"... |
The French minister made the comments during an official visit to the Czech Republic for discussions on the future expansion of the European Union. On Sunday, Britain's Sunday Times said its reporters had found documents in the Iraqi Foreign Ministry revealing that Paris had shared with Baghdad the contents of private transatlantic meetings and diplomatic traffic from Washington. The paper said the information kept Saddam abreast of every development in US planning and might have helped him to prepare for war. One report warned of a US 'attempt to involve Iraq with terrorism' as 'cover for an attack on Iraq', according to the Times. nother document, dated Sept 25, 2001, from Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri to Saddam's palace, was reportedly based on a briefing from the French Ambassador in Baghdad and covered talks between presidents Jacques Chirac and George W. Bush, the newspaper said. 'I simply want us to avoid giving credibility to rumours and malicious gossip,' said Mr de Villepin.
| "Whether it's true or not..." |
France 'permanently acts with transparency and in the interests of the region', he added. |