By NNN-KUNA,
Paris : France will, in the coming days, downgrade the high danger status for travel to Iraq in line with observations made last week by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner who visited the country on Saturday, senior diplomatic sources indicated.
France has previously discouraged all travel to Iraq for whatever purpose because of the high level of violence and particularly the kidnapping of foreigners including several French journalists.
After his initial trip to southern Iraq, the Kurdistan region and Baghdad, Kouchner concluded that “things are going better.”
During his time in Nasseriyah, Kouchner met Iraqi Vice-President Adel Abdel Mehdi and he noted that the atmosphere in that area of southern Iraq is different and “things have really changed,” since his last visit to Iraq in August 2007, the sources said Wednesday.
It was also pointed out that there has not been a bombing in that region for months and the French foreign minister has said he would encourage French businessmen to go there.
The decision by France to modify the danger status of Iraq “reflects the new reality” in that country. Similarly, during a tour of Kurdistan and talks with local leaders there, Kouchner was impressed by the normality of the situation, where “there has been no bombing for four months.”
Indeed, during this trip to Irbil, the French minister inaugurated a “bureau” of the French embassy in Baghdad that will handle consular affairs.
Kouchner came back with a good feeling from his voyage and reported that Iraqis “eagerly requested” France to participate in the reconstruction projects in their country.
Again on the security side, France feels that the threat from foreign fighters in Iraq, often affiliated to the Al-Qaeda movement, has been strongly diminished by local forces, even if it has not been totally eliminated.
Concerning additional aid to Iraq, beyond the USD 4.5 billion in debt forgiveness and the Euros 70 million in donations, France does not see an increase in that figure at the moment.
The sources said that it was the view here that Iraq must be able to address the issue of its colossal debts, owed to Kuwait, and to an extent to Saudi Arabia, for war reparations.
Kouchner also met Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari to discuss the situation.
France has made its availability known to help in a number of areas, but the Iraqis did not make any specific requests in the security domain, it was indicated.
Kouchner also held talks with US authorities in Baghdad, including Commanding General David Petraeus.