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ST PETERSBURG, May 31: The European Union supports Russia’s efforts to bring peace to its breakaway republic of Chechnya, Greek President Costas Simitis said here Friday at an EU-Russia summit.
“The European Union will continue to support the efforts of Russian leaders to carry out a policy aiming to bring peace back to Chechnya,” said Simitis, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
European observers have been among the most critical of Russia’s war in Chechnya, urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to put an end to the nearly four-year-old conflict that has killed thousands of Russian soldiers and an unknown number of civilians.
Simitis praised the Russian president’s peace plan, launched with a constitutional referendum in March and a subsequent offer of an amnesty for rebels.
“The recent referendum, combined with the approved amnesty, is an important step forward,” he said.
Russia’s lower house of parliament last week passed the proposed amnesty at a first reading, two months after Chechens overwhelmingly adopted a new constitution fixing the republic’s place in the Russian Federation.
But many observers have criticized the process, urging Putin to open peace talks with separatist rebels in the mainly Muslim republic.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair also praised the controversial peace process on Saturday, saying: “I think it is absolutely right that you resolve that through the political process and political dialogue that you have engaged in.”
“The referendum result, I think, is a very, very important step forwards,” he said.
Putin insisted the political plan will continue, despite a spate of deadly rebel attacks that have killed more than 80 people in the last month alone.
“We are working on granting the fullest autonomy to Chechnya possible,” he said. “The political process will be continued.”
Putin also assured his Dutch counterpart Jan Peter Balkenende that the search would continue for a Dutch doctor kidnapped in Dagestan last August while working with aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctor Without Borders) in the southern republic, which neighbors Chechnya.
“The case of Arjan Erkel is a manifestation of the terrorism that also threatens other countries. We will continue our search efforts,” Putin said.
Russian officials have said they know the Dutch doctor is alive, but have no idea of his whereabouts.
VISA-FREE TRAVEL: President Putin completed the summit by once again calling for visa-free travel for Russians to EU member states.
“We hope that we can have our partnership reach a new level,” said Putin in closing remarks to summit talks in the grand Konstantinovsky Palace that lasted for nearly three hours — one hour longer than originally scheduled.
As he did in his opening remarks, Putin stressed that the issue of free travel to Europe was of paramount importance to his country.
“Understanding all the difficulties of this problems... and we share these concerns — our goals are clear and certain,” said Putin on the visa issue.
The two sides signed a final declaration called “A single Europe for all Europeans”, which also mentions Russia’s war in separatist Chechnya.
The Russian leader praised the results of the EU summit, which he said focused on some of the toughest issues facing Russia’s relations with Europe.
“We have taken another important step in bringing Russia and the European Union closer together,” he said.
“Russia and the EU are developing relations in political, economic and other spheres ... in the interests of all countries, all our citizens.”
But he repeatedly returned to the issue of free travel — one that is gaining urgency in Russia as the EU expands by 10 more states toward Russia’s borders next year.
“I am convinced that citizens of the EU and Russia will benefit (from the lifting of visas). But of course we understand that Russia will also have to work on this problem,” he said.
In his opening remarks, Putin had warned that a “Schengen wall” threatened to fall over Europe, splitting it from Russia.
“We do not want, and of course our European partners don’t want the Schengen wall to become into another Berlin Wall that separates Europe,” Putin said at the closing press conference.—AFP
