SG/T/2251

ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN FRANCE, 3-5 OCTOBER

The Secretary-General departed Geneva on a direct flight to Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday, 3 October. Upon his arrival at Strasbourg airport, the Secretary-General was greeted by a delegation led by Walter Schwimmer, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.

From the airport, the Secretary-General and his party were taken to the seat of the European Parliament for a meeting with the Parliament's President, Nicole Fontaine. The Secretary-General and the President discussed a number of topics, notably the issue of sanctions against Iraq.

The Secretary-General then attended a luncheon in his honour, co-hosted by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Lord Russell-Johnston, and by the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers' Deputies of the Council Europe, Pietro Ercole Ago.

Following the luncheon, the Secretary-General met separately with Walter Schwimmer and Lord Russel Johnston. Those two appointments were followed by a meeting between the Secretary-General and the full Committee of Ministers' Deputies.

During these meetings the Secretary-General praised the Council of Europe for its work in election monitoring in various regions of the former Yugoslavia. He also encouraged the Council of Europe to open a liaison office so as to facilitate the already productive cooperation between the Council and the United Nations.

The Secretary-General concluded his afternoon programme with a meeting with Eduard Kukan, one of his Special Envoys to the Balkans.

In the early evening the Secretary-General first met with Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, and then with Chris Patten, European Union Commissioner for External Relations, and Gunter Verheugen, European Union Commissioner for Enlargement.

The two men later took questions from the press.

Tuesday's programme ended with a dinner hosted by Romano Prodi and members of the European Commission in a Strasbourg restaurant.

The Secretary-General began his second day in Strasbourg with a t�te-�- t�te meeting with Pascal Lamy, European Commissioner for Trade.

Before flying to Paris, the Secretary-General held a press conference at the European Parliament. He told journalists in his opening remarks that he appreciated the European Union's efforts to strengthen its relationship

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with the United Nations. "I very much welcome this proposal", he said, "since I am convinced that the European Union can make an even greater contribution to various areas that are of concern to the United Nations".

During the 20-minute conference, the Secretary-General answered a wide variety of questions on the Middle East, Cyprus and peacekeeping. Responding to a question on his hopes for today�s Middle East Peace talks, the Secretary- General said: �I would hope at the end of the day we would at least be able to count on some understanding on stopping the violence to calm the situation. I think that this is the most urgent task now, to stop the violence and then try and bring the peace process back on track.�

He later travelled to Paris, where he first met with his Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed-Larsen.

He met separately with Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Chairman Yasser Arafat, following the conclusion of their talks with United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The Secretary-General then met French Foreign Minister, Hubert Vedrine, for a working dinner. They met with the press shortly before the dinner.

In the late evening, the Secretary-General was invited to the Elysee Palace by President Jacques Chirac to join a meeting which also included United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Together, they examined the steps needed to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and resume negotiations for a just and comprehensive settlement in the region. Afterwards, the Secretary-General restated his position that he would be ready to do whatever he could to facilitate implementation of any agreement which might be reached by the parties (see SG/SM/7575).

The Secretary-General remained in Paris overnight and travelled to Brussels on Thursday morning, 5 October.

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