France Inter radio
November 22
rench Cooperation Minister Charles Josselin has said he still thinks
Termez in Uzbekistan offers many advantages from the point of view of
humanitarian aid. In remarks broadcast by French radio after talks with Uzbek
ministers, he also said he thought the Uzbek authorities were aware of this and
did not wish humanitarian aid to steer clear of Termez. France is staging Waiting for Godot in Afghanistan, and if this wasn't a war situation, it would almost be comical. A very small presence in terms of humanitarian aid, complete absence in military terms: the French, it has to be said, have a strategy that is at best opaque, and among politicians some are beginning to denounce this attitude.
The fact that French humanitarian convoys and French soldiers have been held up for several days now in Uzbekistan symbolizes this helplessness. Cooperation Minister or minister-delegate of foreign affairs in charge of cooperation and Francophone affairs Charles Josselin arrived as a matter of urgency in Tashkent to try to break the deadlock.
Welcoming the wonderful work of French humanitarian workers supported in Mazar-e Sharif by courageous French soldiers - this was, in the best-case scenario, the initial aim of Charles Josselin's visit. But on Thursday in Tashkent the cooperation minister had to fulfil a much more diplomatic mission: convincing the Uzbek government that it is indeed necessary for NGOs - their equipment as well as their staff - to be allowed to cross to the other side of the Amu Darya river to save Afghans.
To this end, Charles Josselin met the Uzbek foreign affairs minister Abdulaziz Komilov as well as the emergency situations minister Bahodir Qosimov, and their dialogue was obviously constructive.
The minister said he was resolutely optimistic, obviously:
Josselin: "I remain convinced that Termez is a place that offers many advantages from the point of view of this humanitarian aid. I understood this morning that the Uzbeks are aware of this, too, and that they do not wish for humanitarian aid to in a way steer clear of Termez and this trunk road, which we consider as the best." All the more since thousands of tonnes in humanitarian aid also give rise to a lot of customs duties. The only problem is that for more than a month the Uzbeks have been repeating to their interlocutors the same thing: we shall soon open the humanitarian corridor promised to the UN. When? Soon, soon. This is also what the French were told with regard to the deployment of the marines still held up in Uzbekistan at an American base, and here Charles Josselin recognized in veiled terms that Paris had shown a certain haste and a bit too much optimism.