REACTION:GREEN PARTY leader John Gormley told Mr Sarkozy that the complex political situation over the Lisbon Treaty required a "well-thought-out solution".
Speaking after a 20-minute meeting with the French president, at which Taoiseach Brian Cowen was present, Mr Gormley said he explained the difficulties Irish people had in understanding the complex content of the treaty.
"I also explained the concerns of some Green members about the implications of Irish military neutrality and fears over increased defence spending. Mr Sarkozy told me that he totally respected Irish neutrality and he also said that he understood the Irish Government's difficult position," the Minister for the Environment said.
The three-way meeting was arranged following internal Cabinet discussions over the weekend. Progressive Democrat Minister Mary Harney was out of the country yesterday.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin accepted that Mr Sarkozy had clear views on how to resolve the impasse but said the French president did not want to be "prescriptive" in his approach.
He dismissed suggestions that Mr Sarkozy wanted a second referendum or was exerting political pressure on Ireland to resolve the difficulties created by the referendum result. "[Mr Sarkozy's] perspective today was to help and be of help to Europe. He does see it as a very European problem. He told us at the beginning that he could not contemplate a Europe without Ireland, that he did not believe in a two-speed Europe," said Mr Martin.
