The United Nations decision to pull its foreign staff out of Baghdad proved that a change of approach on the Iraqi situation is more urgent than ever, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said in Paris Thursday.

"More than ever, we believe that only through a change of approach, could we put together the necessary engagement of the international community and the full implication of the Iraqis through an interim government that takes charge of the destiny of Iraq," said de Villepin.

He made this remark at the meeting of foreign ministers of 10 Mediterranean countries who gathered in Saint-Symphorien-le-Chateau, western France on regional cooperation.

Earlier in the day, the United Nations said it has asked its international staff in Baghdad to come out temporarily for consultation in the wake of anti-foreign violence.

"The United Nations has been hit in Iraq. The security of its stuff is a very heavy responsibility for the secretary-general (Kofi Annan). We understand the meaning of the measures that he has taken today," said the French minister.

When asked on the possibility of a pullout of American troops from Iraq, de Villepin said, "Evidently, a pullout from Iraq would be catastrophic and absolutely does not correspond to the demands of the situation."

"That is why since the very beginning we have the conviction that we must answer to the aspirations of the Iraqi people by speeding up the process of recognition of the Iraqi sovereignty," he said.

"It is clear that the whole of the international community shares a responsibility on Iraq," he added.

The ministers of 10 Mediterranean nations -- Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania of the Union of Arab Maghrib (UMA) and France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Malta -- started their first meeting Wednesday.

The meeting was focused on the stability and security, economic development, integration of the Maghrib region, exchange of human resources and migrants.

It is also a preparatory meeting for a summit of heads of state of the 10 nations scheduled for Nov. 5 and 6 in Tunisia.

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2003)