French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier on Sunday backed French President
Jacques Chirac's decision to receive Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for
medical treatment in Paris and stressed Israel's guarantee for Arafat's return
to Ramallah.
"We have welcomed him. I think it's completely normal," Barniersaid in an
interview with France Inter radio on Sunday.
"I've heard the formal assurances given by the Israelis that Yasser Arafat
will be able to return to Ramallah, and I think thatis indeed the case," he
said.
"I even hope that one day, as soon as possible, his freedom of movement will
be reinstated, because the situation that has been imposed on him in Ramallah is
disgraceful," the French minister continued.
The 75-year-old Palestinian leader is reportedly suffering froma potentially
fatal blood disorder and is now undergoing medical tests at Percy military
hospital in the southwestern Paris suburb of Clamart.
Palestinian officials in Paris on Saturday denied that Arafat had leukemia.
According to Arafat's aide Mohammed Rashid, "the situation will become clearer
after the announcement of the test results expected on Wednesday."
According to the Israeli Ha'aretz daily on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon, who had sought to eliminate Arafat, reiterated Israel's commitment
to allowing Arafat to return to thePalestinian territories after his recovery.
