Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company  
The New York Times
May 23, 2003, Friday, Late Edition - Final
Correction Appended
SECTION: Section A;  Page 14;  Column 1;  Foreign Desk 

LENGTH: 894 words

HEADLINE: AFTEREFFECTS: PARIS;
Powell Says to the French, Yes . . . but Not All Is Forgiven

BYLINE:   By JAMES DAO 

DATELINE: PARIS, May 22

BODY:
Sending a mixed message to the French on his first visit here since before the war in Iraq, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said today that France's support for lifting United Nations sanctions against Iraq was "a step in the right direction," but cautioned that "the disagreements of the past" have not been forgotten.

Mr. Powell, who is in Paris for meetings of foreign ministers from the major industrial countries and Russia, insisted that the Bush administration did not plan to punish France for its bitter dispute with the United States over invading Iraq.

But he said the Pentagon was reviewing its plans for joint military exercises with France and other countries "in light of the changed circumstances," and acknowledged that the French would not be invited to an Air Force exercise in Nevada next year known as Red Flag.

Referring to France's yes vote in the United Nations today on a resolution to lift sanctions on Iraq, Mr. Powell said: "Does it mean that the disagreements of the past simply are totally forgotten? No. That was not a very pleasant time for any of us, and we have to work our way through that."

Mr. Powell's remarks come at a tense time in French-American relations, when both countries are struggling to move beyond their differences over Iraq, yet when neither seems willing to acknowledge the validity of the other's position.

In Washington, anger with France's opposition to the war still runs deep in the Pentagon and among conservatives, who feel that new revelations about the brutality of Saddam Hussein's government have validated the American-led invasion.

But in Paris, pride in the French opposition to the war seems no less adamant in the aftermath of Mr. Hussein's fall. Explaining France's vote to lift sanctions today, Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said support for the resolution did not translate into support for the war.

"In voting in favor of this resolution, France stays faithful to its principles," Mr. de Villepin said in an interview published in Le Monde. "The text does not legitimize war. It opens the way to peace, a peace that we must build together."

Ivo H. Daalder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said of the French: "They are not in the mood to come on bended knee and say, 'We're sorry.' It's not even clear to me that they are serious about wanting to patch things up. In that sense, the clash of perspectives that came to the fore in mid-March is still there."

The friction between the countries is likely to be evident in the coming days. Mr. Powell is scheduled to have a working breakfast with Mr. de Villepin on Friday. Next week President Bush, who spoke to President Jacques Chirac from Air Force One today, will visit France next week for a summit meeting of the Group of Eight nations.

There are also signs that the two countries have different priorities for the summit meeting. The State Department has said Mr. Powell intends to focus on the reconstruction of Iraq, the Middle East peace process, international terrorism and nuclear weapons programs in Iran and North Korea.

While the French share some of those concerns, particularly Iraq reconstruction and peace in the Middle East, they will also want to discuss the environment and development in Africa. Some French officials have expressed concerns that their priorities will be set aside in favor of the Bush administration's agenda.

Mr. Powell began his remarks, made in the same room where the Marquis de Lafayette implored Marie Antoinette to help the revolutionary aspirations of the fledgling United States, by praising the long alliance between the two countries.

"What will never change is that there is this tie between the United States and France, a tie that has been created by shared values, created by working with each other in times of war and by being part of a great alliance," he told reporters at the French American Press Club.

In meetings last week with senior officials in Russia and Germany, two other countries that opposed the war in Iraq, Mr. Powell also made a point of noting the differences over Iraq. But his tone today seemed harder, his determination to hold the French accountable for their positions more firm. Asked if the United States intended to punish the French, Mr. Powell, who once said the French would face consequences for their opposition to the war, said no.

"But," he continued, "you take note of those who disagree with you and you try to find out why and if it is appropriate to draw some conclusions. And consequences follow those conclusions."

Mr. Powell said tensions between France and the United States would not affect America's commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which he called "the greatest political and military alliance that the world has ever seen."

He said that despite the end of the cold war, new countries continue to apply for NATO membership. At the urging of the United States, the alliance voted this week to admit Poland, whose troops fought beside Americans in Iraq and will play a role in peacekeeping operations. "It's a little hard to close down a club that has a waiting line," he said of NATO. "The future is going to hold a world that will still have a strong trans-Atlantic community."
 

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CORRECTION-DATE: May 27, 2003, Tuesday

CORRECTION:
An article on Friday about Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's appearance at a meeting of ministers from the major industrial countries and Russia misstated an action taken by NATO last week. It agreed to help Poland conduct peacekeeping operations in Iraq. The vote was not on admitting Poland; that occurred in 1999.




GRAPHIC: Photo: Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in Paris yesterday. He called France's vote for new United Nations resolution a step "in the right direction." (Agence France-Presse)

LOAD-DATE: May 23, 2003