TUNIS, July 19 (AFP) - On Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, after meeting with Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on Monday, said Tunisia and France share the same vision of what is at stake in the Arab world.
"We have the commitment of Tunisia and of President Ben Ali at the head of the Arab League to find political solutions on these issues in cooperation with European countries and other partners and in the framework of the United Nations," said Barnier.
France and Tunisia both demanded a larger role for the UN in Iraq in the run-up to the war and the two countries advocate a middle east peace process based on direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
The two men also spoke of the ongoing crises in Africa and French-Tunisian cooperation, underlining what they called a "Euro-mediterranean dimension".
Their talks included a historical note when Barnier thanked Tunisia for its role helping France in World War I.
"We are very happy to pay tribute on this occasion to the Tunisian soldiers who sacrificed themselves for the liberation of my country and all of Europe," said Barnier.
The French foreign minister also passed on a personal invitation from French President Jacques Chirac for the Tunisian president to join him in the French city of Toulon on August 15 to mark the anniversary of the landing of allied troops in Provence, on the southern French coast, in World War II.
Barnier met earlier in the day with his Tunisian counterpart Habib Ben Yahia where the two foreign ministers discussed the fight against terrorism, clandestine immigration and the geo-political situation in the Maghreb.
Barnier's stop in Tunis follows a visit to the capitals of Morocco and Algeria.