Ever since the beginning of the Iraq crisis, France has endeavoured to make possible the necessary disarmament of Iraq under United Nations authority. This disarmament is under way, as the inspectors have been demonstrating.
France has acted in the name of the primacy of the law and in accordance with her conception of relations between peoples and between nations.
True to the spirit of the United Nations Charter, which is our common law, France considers that recourse to force is the last resort, when all other options have been exhausted.
France's position is shared by the great majority of the international community. The most recent debates have clearly shown that the Security Council was not prepared, under present circumstances, to approve a precipitate march to war.
The United States has just issued an ultimatum to Iraq. Whether, I repeat, it's a matter of the necessary disarmament of Iraq or of the desirable change of regime in that country, there no justification for a unilateral decision to resort to war.
Regardless of the forthcoming developments, this ultimatum is calling into question our idea of international relations. It affects the future of a people, the future of a region, world stability.
It is a grave decision, at a time when Iraq's disarmament is under way and the inspections have proved to be a credible alternative method of disarming that country.
It is also a decision which jeopardizes future use of methods to resolve peacefully crises linked to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Iraq does not today present an immediate threat warranting an immediate war. France appeals to everyone to act responsibly to ensure the respect of international legality. It appeals to them to maintain the Security Council's unity by staying within the framework set by UNSCR 1441.
To act outside the authority of the United Nations, to prefer the use of force to compliance with the law, would incur a heavy responsibility.