FRANCE/IRAQ: Mowafak Abboud admits there's a lot of work to do to win France over, writes Lara Marlowe, in Paris. There will never be another July 17th reception in the gardens of the Iraqi Embassy on the rue de la Faisanderie.
In the old days of Franco-Iraqi friendship, prominent politicians, left and right, raised their champagne flutes to the anniversary of the 1968 Ba'athist coup that brought Saddam Hussein to power.
Today, dozens of gilt frames that wreathed Saddam's portraits lie stacked in the chancery basement. Iraq's ambassador to Paris is now ignored, not fêted.
Iraq has become a poor country, Ambassador Mowafak Abboud notes. Businessmen are afraid to go there. But the biggest obstacle to Franco-Iraqi reconciliation is the Iraqi government's reliance on Washington. France's opposition to the invasion that overthrew Saddam, as well as French insistence that US troops should leave, and that Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's government should negotiate with insurgents, sit like boulders on the path to friendship.
The kidnapping of two French hostages, journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, by the "Islamic Army in Iraq" made Paris even more reluctant to associate with the US-backed Iraqi government.
Mr Abboud arrived in September, but delayed presenting his credentials to President Jacques Chirac because he had to accompany President Ghazi Yawar on a tour of European capitals.
"Paris was supposed to be his first stop," Mr Abboud says. "But the hostages were taken and the Élysée cancelled the invitation."
Mr Chirac avoided meeting Mr Allawi in Brussels earlier this month by flying to the United Arab Emirates for Sheikh Zayyid's funeral. But Mr Abboud was cheerful yesterday, following the Sharm el-Sheikh conference.
"It's a turning point," he said. "A lot of countries from Europe and our region who opposed the war came together and gave a strong message of support to the elections [ on January 30th] and the political process. They all condemned violence and called for respect of the territorial integrity of Iraq."
Mr Abboud participated in the "Paris Club" negotiations at the French finance ministry which resulted in an agreement to forgive 80 per cent of $40 billioin Iraqi debt last weekend. The French government had opposed forgiving more than 50 per cent, on the grounds that Iraq has vast potential oil wealth, and that poor African countries are in greater need of debt forgiveness.
"We said this was true, but that to rebuild Iraq, we need investment, and no one will invest in a heavily indebted country," he said. "We pointed out that the high price of oil is the result of instability in Iraq. Oil at close to $50 a barrel is costing creditor countries the equivalent of Iraq's debt every few weeks."
The urgency of pulling Iraq out of what the French foreign minister, Michel Barnier, calls its "black hole", is an argument that is working with Syria and Iran too.
"It is not in the interest of Syria or Iran to let instability continue," Mr Abboud said. "It will spill over into their territory. A stable Iraq is in the interest of the whole region."
Yet he claims that former members of the Ba'ath party leadership are sending money, weapons and fighters into Iraq from Syria.
"The Syrian government. . . assure us they are doing their best to prevent people illegally crossing the border with Iraq," he says. Mr Abboud indirectly refutes the plan by US neo-conservatives to use Iraq to "spread democracy" in the region: "One of the reasons we called the Sharm el-Sheikh conference was to give assurances to our neighbours. . . Iraq has no interest whatsoever in letting its territory be used against our neighbours."
Nor will Iraq's pro-American government break ranks with other Arabs by establishing relations with Israel before there is peace with the Palestinians, Mr Abboud promised.
"Unfortunately many Arabs judge what is happening in Iraq through the Palestinian problem. They see the Americans taking the Israeli side, and they oppose what is happening in Iraq."
Mr Abboud is a Shia Muslim from the southern city of Diwaniya. He studied political science at Baghdad University and joined the foreign ministry in 1970. After serving in Doha, Beirut, London, Bern, Stockholm and Vienna, he resigned in 1990 "because I was not happy serving the previous regime".
He joined opposition activities in London and Washington with the Shia politician Ahmad Chalabi, academic Kanaan Makiya and Samir Summaidi, now Iraq's ambassador to the UN.
After the regime fell, he returned to Baghdad as political adviser to the foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari. Mr Abboud believes most of the insurgents are left-overs from Saddam's regime, "security forces, intelligence services, torturers, those who were responsible for protection of the dictator".
He accuses them of using Islam and occupation as a pretext. "The savage way they are taking hostages and killing them has nothing to do with Islam... They are helping foreign forces to stay longer."
Margaret Hassan's widower published an advert in Iraqi newspapers this week, asking for those who took her hostage to return her body so she may rest in peace.
"For those Europeans who oppose the war in Iraq and talk about resistance, what these terrorists did to Margaret Hassan shows they have nothing to do with resistance," Mr Abboud says. "They are not interested in fighting foreign forces. They want to terrorise foreigners who come to help Iraqis."
The French and several Arab governments have appealed to Mr Allawi to reach out to the alienated Sunni Muslim minority who are the backbone of the insurgency. But like his bosses in Baghdad, Mr Abboud is not inclined to accommodate them. "The insurgents are trying to hijack Sunni towns and cities," he says. "They claim they represent Sunnis, and that Sunnis plan to boycott the elections. But they are doing this by force. That's why the government decided to free the citizens of Falluja."
Mr Abboud has more immediate concerns in Paris. His chances of winning the French over are not much stronger than US prospects of restoring peace and tranquillity to Iraq.
"It's a challenging post," he admits diplomatically. "Relations between us and France are delicate. France has a very negative view about what is happening in Iraq. We need to do a lot to remove these pre-conceptions and strengthen the relationship."