French FM Kouchner leaves Algeria without any promise to attend Paris’ summit

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner left Algeria Monday without obtaining a promise from Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to attend the first summit of the projected Mediterranean Union due to be held in Paris on July 13.French officials expressed a big interest in the participation of Algeria as an influential factor in French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s initiative.

Kouchner admitted that Algeria has not determined its position toward Sarkozy’s project yet. In an attempt to avoid possible interpretations of his statement, he confirmed that he did not officially invite the Algerian authorities to attend the summit.

The French Foreign Affairs Minister’s statement came in a total contradiction of what was reported by Agence France Presse during a visit paid by French Interior Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie to Algeria. It reported that the French minister would officially invite President Bouteflika to attend the summit. That means the French side could not convince the Algerian one of feasibility of this project which meets a cool welcome.

For his part, Algerian Foreign Affairs Minister Mourad Medelsi confirmed that all the project-related decisions will pass through bilateral and regional coordination refinery.

This project is said to be a French attempt to normalise ties with the Hebrew state after the failure of the Barcelona Process in addition to French positions towards sensitive issues for Algeria such as the acknowledgement of its colonisation crimes.

In this cool welcome of “Sarkozy’s dream,” the French Foreign Affairs Minster did not find other any way to praise Algerians than saying that France’s relations with North Africa start with Algeria which remains a pivotal country in the projected Mediterranean Union.