Javier Solana:"The international community must join efforts to avert and counteract terrorist acts elsewhere"

Monday, September 16, 2019

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The international community must join efforts to avert and counteract terrorist acts elsewhere, Javier Solana, EU Commissioner for Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) opines. When Russia has to face such loathsome atrocities [Beslan siege], the European Union is ready to render aid to it to the best of its possibilities. The deepened cooperation between the law-enforcement bodies and the exchange of information is only one example of a host of forms of interaction, which we must develop, Solana said in an interview to Nezavisimaya Gazeta. Speaking about a connection between terrorist acts on the one hand and Chechnya and international terrorism on the other, the EU High Representative for CFSP said it is far from simple to answer this question. In his opinion the comprehensive investigation will reveal in what way these terrorist acts are linked with international terrorism and Chechnya. I'm not going to exploit this theme. Unfortunately the conflict in Chechnya as before remains the source of instability in the region and the continuation of terrorist acts is a negative signal, he stressed. Solana believes that the political settlement of the conflict in Chechnya remains a priority for the European Union. "Now we hope that the new president of the republic [Chechnya] and the Russian authorities will take new efforts on the path to the genuine political settlement of the situation which will be backed up by the Chechen people, Solana said. Solana recalled that the EU disbursed over a billion euros as aid grants to the region. He said that although the European Union is not acting as an official mediator in settling any of the conflict situations in the region, in recent years its political involvement with the aim of finding viable decisions increased. In his words, the appointment of Heiki Talvitie as a special rerpresentative of the European Union in Transcaucasia is an indicator of the EU resoluteness. "I hope that in the coming months and years their interaction will boost," the EU High Representative for CFSP said in conclusion .