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France, India agree on NATO action

Ranvir Nayar in Paris

France has assured India that it entirely shares India's views over the future direction for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's action in Kosovo and the way to deal with the crisis after the military action is over. The convergence of views on this crucial issue is being seen as the biggest achievement of the three-day tour of Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to Paris last week.

For a long while, India has been critical of the NATO action on the basis that it lacked the mandate of the United Nations and that it could set a precedent for similar interventions elsewhere in the world.

"France has categorically told us that the Kosovo action should be seen as a one-off affair and not something can transposed anywhere else. It has also said it believes that NATO's area of operation will always remain within the territory of Europe and not any other place,'' India's Ambassador to France Kanwal Sibal told Rediff On The NeT at the end of Singh's visit.

The French assurance came during the meeting that Singh had with his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine. France has explicitly stated that the NATO intervention in Yugoslavia should be seen as an exceptional case, rather than setting a precedent for the future.

France has also admitted that the current action does not have the moral backing and authority of the United Nations Security Council. This is also very comforting for the Indians since the French position directly contrasts with American statements that indicate that the NATO action in Kosovo is just the beginning of the expanding role for the organisation.

Vedrine also told Singh that France firmly believes that while NATO countries may have begun the action in Yugoslavia, the end could come only through the United Nations and that peace will be restored only through the world body.

The French assurance is timely for India since just before his arrival in Paris, Singh had visited Moscow where India and Russia had expressed concern over the implications of this unilateral strike over an independent country, without the mandate of the UN Security Council. Singh had also spoken of the emergence of an axis between India, Russia and China over the Kosovo issue since the three countries have identical views on the situation.

Vedrine also told Singh that France was very keen that Russia plays its due role in solving the crisis. France has also reiterated that the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia will be maintained, thus ruling out any independence for Kosovo. Besides Kosovo, Singh's visit was used by both sides to exchange notes on a number of other issues, bilateral, regional and global. The tour is being viewed as a tremendous success and is expected to go a long way in building up the relationship between India and France.

Singh was in Paris to attend a meeting of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development to which India had been invited for the first time. At the request of the French government, his visit was converted into a bilateral visit.

He also called upon President Jacques Chirac for a meeting that lasted almost an hour, twice the time given for the meeting. With Chirac, Singh discussed bilateral, regional and global issues. They also had a discussion on energy co-operation between India and France, especially in the area of nuclear power, where both the sides are keen to start co-operation, but are being held back due to international perceptions about such a deal.

Singh apparently charmed Chirac so much during the meeting that not only did the president continue the meeting for almost twice its scheduled time, he walked down to the gates of the Palais Elysees to see his guest off. That is a gesture Chirac reserves for very close friends among world statesmen.

"This visit has very definitely consolidated our understanding. I think it definitely underlines the message that the top leadership of France wants to send about how much it values and desires closer and stronger ties with India,'' says Sibal. "The French appreciation of the Indian position on most regional and global issues which was reiterated during the latest round of negotiations only helps to build a stronger bilateral relationship,'' the ambassador added.

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