ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - July 12 - France Re-establishes Ties With Iraq.

An unnamed French FM spokesman says France re-establishes diplomatic relations with Iraq, severed under Saddam's leadership. He says: "Paris wants to participate in the political and economic reconstruction of Iraq". Political analysts said that, given France's longstanding opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq, it was unlikely that it would suddenly win reconstruction contracts. A professor of political science at George Washington University in Washington James Goldgeier, said: "It is not a signal other than this is Iraq getting itself into the international game again. If the US really starts to phase out of the running of the country after the elections in '05, then we are going to see more competition among countries to get in on the action in Iraq". (Iraq cut diplomatic ties with France in 1991, but since 1996, the French have maintained a diplomatic presence at their embassy in Baghdad under the auspices of Romania). The Director of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations in Paris Pascale Boniface, said renewing ties with France would help the new Iraqi government establish its legitimacy. Bonifice said: "Iraq has to show that it is not locked into a subservience to the US". For the French government, he said, recognising the US-backed government is a necessary step to protecting French interests in the region. The renewal of ties comes as Iraq's new FM Hoshyar Zebari, met in Brussels with EU FMs to win help rebuilding his country. Zebari said he wanted to show that the new Iraqi government was not "window dressing" for the US, and he won a pledge from the Europeans to continue helping to rebuild Iraq. But Zebari dismissed a call by the Europeans for Iraq to outlaw the death penalty. Zebari said: "The reality we face on the ground demands and requires some tougher action to bring the security situation under control".