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.

Source: Xinhua