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Chirac backs U.N. Afghan role

Egypt's Mubarak (left) welcomes Chirac

CAIRO, Egypt -- French President Jacques Chirac has supported calls for the United Nations to be involved in Afghanistan's political future.

Speaking after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Chirac said the two leaders agreed on "the need for putting a political solution into practice" under U.N. auspices.

"The United Nations should take charge of this job because it is the only party capable of it and of giving help quickly to the refugees," the French leader said at a news conference.

Chirac also said the U.S.-led military campaign should be restricted to Afghanistan.

Arab leaders have said U.S. strikes on Arab states such as Iraq would add to anti-U.S. sentiment in Arab countries, already high because of a perceived U.S. anti-Muslim bias, particularly over Israel.

Part of Chirac's stated mission is to examine with Middle East leaders what can be done to restart the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.

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"There must be a solution to the Middle East issue. This is essential for the coalition against terrorism, and it should happen peaceably by the Palestinians and Israelis returning to negotiations," Chirac said.

Mubarak told the news conference that U.S. President George W. Bush -- who decided against a first-ever meeting with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in New York at the weekend -- would eventually have to talk directly with Arafat.

"After Arafat it will be difficult to negotiate with (Palestinians) because Israel won't find anyone the Palestinians have a consensus about," he added.

Chirac is due to visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on his three-day whistle-stop Mideast mission.

Chirac also gave an interview to an Arab newspaper stressing that an international solution was needed to the Afghan government dilemma.

"I wanted to go to Riyadh... to consult with King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah on the political future of Afghanistan and the crisis in the Middle East," he said in an interview published in the Arabic-language al-Hayat on Monday.

"I think that the military operation must be accompanied by international mobilisation for a political solution.

"This means facilitating a consensus between all the Afghan elements so they can form a transitional government," he said in the interview, conducted in Paris just before the trip.

Chirac also told al-Hayat that he and Mubarak shared similar views on Afghanistan, combating terrorism and Middle East peace.

But he denied there was a "causal link between the dispute in the Middle East and international terrorism."

At least 701 Palestinians and 188 Israelis have been killed since Palestinians began an uprising in September 2000 against Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.