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Jan. 25, 2004 France Calls for End to Chechen War The Associated
Press "Everyone perceives the urgency of finding a solution to put an end to this long suffering. Chechnya has been in a situation of open war for too many years, with its many dramas and its risks to throwing the situation in its neighboring countries, from Turkey to Iran, out of balance," de Villepin told students at the Moscow Foreign Affairs Institute. "Here as elsewhere, there cannot be a durable solution that relies on a simple security strategy. Only a just political process and striving for peace can lead to that, and end the suffering of civilian populations." He said France favored the return of humanitarian organizations and media representatives "as a permanent presence" in Chechnya. At a joint news conference later in the day, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov reiterated Russia's stance that the military conflict in Chechnya was an anti-terrorist operation. "There is no war in the Chechen republic -- there is a fight against international terrorism," Ivanov said. "A very complicated process of political settlement is being conducted against the background of fighting international terrorism." De Villepin arrived in Moscow late Thursday for talks on cooperation between Russia and the European Union, and other issues including Afghanistan, the Middle East crisis and Iraq. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said on the eve of de Villepin's visit that the talks would also touch on preparations for a March meeting of a Russian-French council on security. The two countries also have bilateral working groups on terrorism and weapons proliferation that are to meet soon, he said. In a separate development, Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov on Friday accused Turkish nongovernmental organizations of aiding Chechen rebels, and said some unnamed foreign governments were doing too little to stop funds, weapons and new cadres from reaching terrorists. "We are still concerned about the activity on Turkish territory of a series of nongovernmental organizations and individuals who according to our information are continuing to provide political, material and other support to terrorists operating in Chechnya," Trubnikov said. He said that Moscow had frequently raised the issue with Turkish authorities.
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