French President Jacques Chirac offered a public defense of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at his annual New Year's reception for foreign ambassadors in Paris on 6 January 2005, praising Annan's record and calling him "a man of peace, of conviction, of courage and of integrity."
The remarks came as Republican lawmakers in the United States pressed for Annan's resignation on two counts: his characterization of the US-led invasion of Iraq as illegal under the UN Charter, and corruption allegations tied to the oil-for-food program that had governed trade with pre-war Iraq. The allegations also implicated Annan's son. Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker was heading a formal inquiry into the matter.
The oil-for-food program ran from 1996 to 2003, allowing Iraq to exchange petroleum for food and medicine under the oversight of the five permanent Security Council members: the United States, Britain, China, France, and Russia. Evidence pointed to Saddam Hussein diverting a portion of the revenue, possibly to compensate foreign officials with ties to Baghdad.
Chirac called on the planned September UN summit to advance structural reforms, including an expansion of the Security Council's permanent membership, a cause backed by France, Germany, India, and other nations.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.