FRANCE AND IRAN MEET TO IMPROVE TIES
FRANCE AND IRAN MEET TO IMPROVE TIES
By JUDITH MILLER, Special to the New York Times
May 24, 1986
PARID - France and Iran have made progress toward easing their strained relations after a two-day visit here by a high-level Iranian delegation, French officials said today.
The visit reflected an intensive effort by France's new conservative Government to secure the release of French hostages being held by Shiite Moslem extremists in Lebanon.
The announcement came as a French television station said four of the nine French nationals still held captive - a camera crew from the station - had sent letters and photographs saying they were in good health. The messages were said to have been given to the station, Antenne 2, by the office of Prime Minister Jacques Chirac on Thursday. Aides to Mr. Chirac refused to say how he got the material.
French officials say they believe that Teheran exercises a decisive influence over the groups holding the hostages and that Mr. Chirac decided soon after coming to power in March to seek to normalize relations with Iran.
Given to Family Members
The television station's editor in chief, Pierre-Henri Arnstam, said the photographs and letters had been passed on to family members, who requested that they not be made public.
''It's a good sign,'' Mr. Arnstam said of the messages. ''We feel good.''
The Iranian delegation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Reza Moayeri, was the highest-ranking group to visit France since relations became badly strained in 1981, when the French Government began actively backing and supplying Baghdad with weapons in the Iran-Iraq war.
The Iranians pressed three demands during the talks, French and Iranian officials said. These were repayment of a $1.3 billion loan to Paris in 1975 by the Shah for the construction in France of a nuclear reprocessing plant; extradition of Iranian dissidents living in France, and a French pledge not to sign new arms contracts with Iraq, with whom Iran has been at war for six years.
Prime Minister Chirac, speaking at a luncheon Thursday, declared that France ''is ready to normalize relations'' with Iran. But he emphasized France's determination to continue its close ties with Baghdad.
He also said his Government was not willing to extradite Iranian dissidents being sought by Iran, most prominently, Massoud Rajavi, leader of the Iranian opposition Mujahedeen movement.
'Out of the Question'
''France isn't accustomed to expelling political refugees to their country of origin,'' Mr. Chirac said. ''It is absolutely out of the question that it would take such measures.''
Mr. Moayeri characterized his talks here as ''positive on the whole,'' a less glowing assessment than that given by Mr. Chirac.
Mr. Moayeri denied that Iranian involvement in holding French hostages, but pledged that Teheran would use its ''influence'' to help free them.
Mr. Moayeri also noted pointedly that Iran had detected a ''positive evolution'' in France's stance toward Iran since Mr. Chirac's right of center neo-Gaullist party came to power. Although Mr. Chirac shares power with President Francois Mitterrand, a Socialist, French commentators here agree that the Prime Minister's office has increasingly become the key player in foreign and domestic policy.
Mr. Chirac has dramatically increased contacts with Iran. Officials say the French have expressed a willingness to meet some of Iran's demands, particularly payment of the $1.3 billion loan. At the luncheon, Mr. Chirac said only that France was also seeking compensation for French contracts canceled by Iran.
In a related development, the Foreign Ministry confirmed today that Mr. Chirac spoke by telephone late Thursday night or early this morning with President Hafez al-Assad of Syria. The Foreign Ministry refused to give details of the talk. The official Syrian press agency JANA reported that the conversation had involved ''bilateral relations'' and ''other questions.''
French press reports widely interpreted this to mean that Mr. Chirac and Mr. Assad had discussed the French hostages.
In January, President Mitterrand's office held talks, through intermediaries in Damascus, with the pro-Iranian groups that were then holding four French citizens hostage in Beirut.
PARID - France and Iran have made progress toward easing their strained relations after a two-day visit here by a high-level Iranian delegation, French officials said today.
The visit reflected an intensive effort by France's new conservative Government to secure the release of French hostages being held by Shiite Moslem extremists in Lebanon.
The announcement came as a French television station said four of the nine French nationals still held captive - a camera crew from the station - had sent letters and photographs saying they were in good health. The messages were said to have been given to the station, Antenne 2, by the office of Prime Minister Jacques Chirac on Thursday. Aides to Mr. Chirac refused to say how he got the material.
French officials say they believe that Teheran exercises a decisive influence over the groups holding the hostages and that Mr. Chirac decided soon after coming to power in March to seek to normalize relations with Iran.
Given to Family Members
The television station's editor in chief, Pierre-Henri Arnstam, said the photographs and letters had been passed on to family members, who requested that they not be made public.
''It's a good sign,'' Mr. Arnstam said of the messages. ''We feel good.''
The Iranian delegation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Reza Moayeri, was the highest-ranking group to visit France since relations became badly strained in 1981, when the French Government began actively backing and supplying Baghdad with weapons in the Iran-Iraq war.
The Iranians pressed three demands during the talks, French and Iranian officials said. These were repayment of a $1.3 billion loan to Paris in 1975 by the Shah for the construction in France of a nuclear reprocessing plant; extradition of Iranian dissidents living in France, and a French pledge not to sign new arms contracts with Iraq, with whom Iran has been at war for six years.
Prime Minister Chirac, speaking at a luncheon Thursday, declared that France ''is ready to normalize relations'' with Iran. But he emphasized France's determination to continue its close ties with Baghdad.
He also said his Government was not willing to extradite Iranian dissidents being sought by Iran, most prominently, Massoud Rajavi, leader of the Iranian opposition Mujahedeen movement.
'Out of the Question'
''France isn't accustomed to expelling political refugees to their country of origin,'' Mr. Chirac said. ''It is absolutely out of the question that it would take such measures.''
Mr. Moayeri characterized his talks here as ''positive on the whole,'' a less glowing assessment than that given by Mr. Chirac.
Mr. Moayeri denied that Iranian involvement in holding French hostages, but pledged that Teheran would use its ''influence'' to help free them.
Mr. Moayeri also noted pointedly that Iran had detected a ''positive evolution'' in France's stance toward Iran since Mr. Chirac's right of center neo-Gaullist party came to power. Although Mr. Chirac shares power with President Francois Mitterrand, a Socialist, French commentators here agree that the Prime Minister's office has increasingly become the key player in foreign and domestic policy.
Mr. Chirac has dramatically increased contacts with Iran. Officials say the French have expressed a willingness to meet some of Iran's demands, particularly payment of the $1.3 billion loan. At the luncheon, Mr. Chirac said only that France was also seeking compensation for French contracts canceled by Iran.
In a related development, the Foreign Ministry confirmed today that Mr. Chirac spoke by telephone late Thursday night or early this morning with President Hafez al-Assad of Syria. The Foreign Ministry refused to give details of the talk. The official Syrian press agency JANA reported that the conversation had involved ''bilateral relations'' and ''other questions.''
French press reports widely interpreted this to mean that Mr. Chirac and Mr. Assad had discussed the French hostages.
In January, President Mitterrand's office held talks, through intermediaries in Damascus, with the pro-Iranian groups that were then holding four French citizens hostage in Beirut.
posted by About MEK @ 2:30 PM
