Putin Defends Chechnya Policy at Talks

The leaders of Russia, France and Germany met in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Tuesday for informal talks on Iraq and other subjects as French President Jacques Chirac faced a crisis over the abduction of two French journalists.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder arrived late on Monday and was welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin at his summer residence. Putin and Schröder then held informal bilateral talks during the evening with Chirac expected to join the discussions early the next morning after an overnight flight from Paris.

Chirac had been forced to delay his arrival owing to the abduction of two French journalists in Iraq by kidnappers who have given Paris an ultimatum over its ban on the wearing of the Muslim headscarf in state schools. But the French president did not want to cancel the meeting with his two fellow opponents of the US-led invasion of Iraq and arrived early on Tuesday in the scenic resort.

Along with Iraq, the three leaders were expected to discuss relations between the European Union and Russia, as well as regional questions, two days after a controversial presidential election in the war-torn Russian republic of Chechnya.

The leaders began the day with a working breakfast, followed by trilateral talks, with officials emphasizing that the meeting was informal, with no fixed agenda and no necessity to take decisions. The informality was confirmed by the sighting of the trio chatting in English on the veranda of the residence before heading into their talks after breakfast.

Chirac reiterates stance on journalists

The mini-summit began after Islamic militants holding two French journalists captive gave Paris another 24 hours to scrap its controversial ban on the wearing in public schools of Islamic headscarves and other signs of religious affiliation. That ban, made law in France earlier this year, was due to go into effect this week and France has asserted that the law safeguards the country's stringent secular traditions and will stand.

Chirac reiterated his call for the release of two journalists.

"I am renewing my solemn call for their release," Chirac told reporters at the post-talks press conference. "Everything will be done to secure their release."

Putin meanwhile faced his own challenges from extremists in the aftermath of apparent suicide bomber attacks that brought down two commercial airliners in Russia last week with the loss of 90 lives.

Two women from Russia's separatist republic of Chechnya, where Russian forces are mired in a five-year guerrilla war, were suspected of bringing the planes down and Putin has ordered law enforcement agencies to take higher precautions against further "terrorist acts" in Russia.

Putin defends elections in Chechnya

Chechnya would always remain a part of Russia, Putin said and defended the elections in the state at the weekend which had been widely criticized.

"The Chechen people have made their choice," Putin told reporters. "If the Chechen people came out to vote, that means they wanted to decide their republic's future. No one dragged them by the scruff of their necks or their hair to the voting stations."

The vote was denounced on Monday by the United States as falling short of international standards of freedom and fairness and having "serious flaws". The European Commission on Tuesday also condemned the poll and called for early parliamentary polls in the strife-torn Russian republic. Putin confirmed that both Chirac and Schröder questioned him about the war and said he gave them "detailed" answers.

Schröder calls for political solution

Schröder revealed to the press conference that he told Putin that "the Chechen conflict must be resolved politically, the way that Putin has said it would," and added, "We will continue to look for a solution in critical solidarity."

Jacques Chirac said he supported his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in seeking a political solution in Chechnya, provided that it preserves Russia's territorial integrity.

"A political solution is necessary and this is what Russia wants but a political solution has a limit," Chirac said at the press conference.

Pledge of support for Iraq but no details

On the subject of Iraq, all three leaders pledged to work toward bringing stability to the war-torn country, but gave no concrete details about what steps they would take.

"We have an interest in contributing everything possible to lead to stabilizing the situation," Putin said but failed to elaborate.

Putin, Schröder and Chirac have toned down their criticism of the situation in Iraq since their opposition before the US-led invasion, but they made clear their concern about the troubled security situation in Iraq.

All three nations have refused to send troops to Iraq to help in peacekeeping and rebuilding efforts. France and Germany have said they would help train Iraqi officers but only outside the country, while Russia has offered to help train civilian personnel and said it would consider restructuring Iraq's multibillion dollar debt through the Paris club of creditor nations.

Russia to continue increase in oil production

In a further statement, Putin announced that Russia would continue to increase the extraction and export of its oil resources. Russian firms would "continue to increase the extraction of hydrocarbons and that they will increase their deliveries to the global market," the Russian president told assembled press.

Russian oil production is expected to reach 450 million tons this year and export some 255 million tons, an increase from 421 million tons of production and 228 million tons of exports last year, he added.