WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- France's position on involving its troops in Iraq has not changed at all, Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said Friday in Washington.
"It is out of the question to send French troops to Iraq," she said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Alliot-Marie stressed the importance of strong trans-Atlantic cooperation, but said her nation would not participate in the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq at least until the transition of power to the Iraqi people is complete.
She said France could potentially assist in rebuilding Iraq as part of a U.N.-led effort. Training soldiers and police officers might be one French contribution.
"The stabilization of Iraq is in everyone's interest," she said. "We all want Iraq to be sovereign, stable, democratic and prosperous."
Alliot-Marie acknowledged the tension that has marked recent Franco-American relations, but stressed that such difficulties are surmountable.
"Differences do exist," she said, "I think, nevertheless, that they are being exacerbated today by certain radical neo-conservative ideas, the very antithesis of European sensibilities."
