FRANCE TO OPEN NEW "ENVOY BUREAU" IN NORTHERN IRAQ

Hurriyet, Turkey
Nov 1 2006

Following shortly on the heels of its parliamentary approval of a
bill aimed at penalizing those who publicly deny Armenian genocide
claims, France is preparing another move which seems destined to annoy
Ankara. France has announced it will be opening up an "Envoy Bureau"
in Northern Iraq, in order to better keep tabs on the situation in
the Kurdish region there.

According to a statement from French Foreign Ministry spokesman
Jean-Baptiste Mattei, France will open its new bureau in the Northern
Iraqi city of Erbil in January, 2007. The new "Envoy Bureau" will be
run by a diplomat with ties to the French Embassy in Baghdad.

Spokeman Mattei, in a statement to Hurriyet yesterday, analyzed the
new developments as such:

"Like Turkey, we also follow a policy of defending the unity of Iraqi
soil. Within this framework, we maintain an embassy in Baghdad. But
it is true that we are planning on opening an "Envoy Bureau" in Erbil,
one which will be linked to the embassy in Baghdad."

Iraqi President Jelal Talabani is expected in coming days in Paris,
to meet with French President Jacques Chirac, as well as other top
French diplomats.