French Socialist Prime Minister Mr Lionel Jospin today joined the growing criticism from Europe of US foreign policy.
He called on Washington to broaden its contacts with the rest of the world and not to become fixated on the war on terrorism.
"One cannot reduce the problems of the world to the single dimension of the fight against terrorism - however vital that might be - nor can one rely for solving them on the dominance of military methods," Mr Jospin said.
"Our conception of the world aims at building a more balanced international community, a safer and fairer world. This conception is based on a multilateral approach," he said.
The prime minister was speaking in Paris at a conference of European parliamentarians on international money-laundering.
His remarks echoed those of Foreign Minister Mr Hubert Vedrine who on Wednesday accused the US of pursuing a "simplistic" foreign policy since the September 11th attacks.
France favoured "all forms of co-operation which allow members of the international community to attack the essential problems together . . . no country can claim to be able to solve them alone," Mr Jospin said.
Citing as examples international talks on the environment, trade and disarmament, he urged Washington "not to give way to the strong temptation of unilateralism but to re-engage with us".
Several European leaders have recently raised doubts about what they fear is a go-it-alone policy being pursued by President Bush, and in particular about his attempts to broaden the war on terrorism to Iran, Iraq and North Korea.
AFP
