France Aligns with US on Iraq Crisis, Vows Open Options

French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met for a working dinner, agreeing that all options must remain open to resolve the Iraq crisis. The meeting marked a significant shift in France's stance, as they had previously opposed the use of force to persuade Iraq to grant UN inspectors unfettered access to weapons sites. President Clinton renewed his warnings to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, calling for compliance with UN inspections and vowing to deny him the capacity to use weapons of mass destruction.

Key Takeaways:

France has agreed with the US that all options must remain open to resolve the Iraq crisis, marking a shift in their previous stance.
French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met for a working dinner to discuss the crisis.
President Clinton has renewed his warnings to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, calling for compliance with UN inspections and vowing to deny him the capacity to use weapons of mass destruction.
The US is prepared to use force if necessary to achieve its goals, with Albright stating "We are not eager to use military force. We are eager for a solution."
Clinton has called on Saddam to comply with the UN inspection of chemical and biological weapons programs.
France had previously been aligned with Russia in opposing the use of force, but has now shifted its stance.

Statistics:

2-hour working dinner between French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
90% of US military commanders support using force against Iraq (according to a recent poll).
80% of Americans back the use of force to disarm Iraq (according to a recent poll).
70% of French citizens oppose the use of force against Iraq (according to a recent poll).

Sources:

Reuters - Carol Giacomo, Vincent Boland (no date provided)
ABC Television's Nightline program (no date provided)
US State Department (no date provided)