May 1, 2003	Thursday	Safar 28, 1424

PARIS: France and Russia have decided to discretely step up their relations, officials close to French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said on return from Moscow last week.

The visit followed a summit between France, Germany and Russia at St Petersburg.

Mrs Alliot-Marie officially said she had been instructed by President Jacques Chirac “to let Russia know that we consider her to have a European vocation” and to provide a “new compulsion towards warmer Franco-Russian ties”.

Even more importantly - and this was the reason why it was Alliot-Marie who was asked by President Chirac to undertake the trip, not Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin or the prime minister - is France’s intention of building up defence relations, not only between France and Russia, but also between Moscow and the European Union.

With regard to Franco-Russian relations, the French defence minister let it be known to her Russian hosts that “our relations are old and strong” and that “we are in agreement that we must develop and intensify our cooperation, notably in the spheres of industry and armaments”.