Vol. 533 No. 2
26 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the matters discussed and any conclusions reached at his recent meeting with the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Hubert Vedrine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8405/01]
I met the French Foreign Minister, Hubert Védrine, on 23 February 2001 in Paris. Our discussions covered bilateral relations between Ireland and France, which we agreed were excellent, and issues of mutual concern on the European and international agenda, with a particular focus on matters before the United Nations Security Council. In particular, we discussed the current UN Security Council handling of Iraq, including sanctions; the western Balkans; the African crises, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and the situation in the Great Lakes; and East Timor.
My talks with Foreign Minster Védrine followed my talks with Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov in Moscow on 21 February, and preceded my talks in Washington with Vice-President, Dick Cheney, US Secretary of State, Colin Powell and National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, on 27 and 28 February. All of these meetings with three of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council were particularly useful in deepening our dialogue and the mutual understanding of our approaches to issues currently on the Security Council agenda.
Question No. 27 answered with Question No. 9.
