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Putin rejects Chechnya criticism
By Joelle Diderich
PARIS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin rejected fresh criticism over Russia's war in the breakaway region of Chechnya on Tuesday, saying during a visit to Paris it was comparable to the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan.
At a news conference after an informal meeting, President Jacques Chirac urged Putin to restart peace talks with Chechen rebels and insisted the Chechen conflict "could not be reduced solely to its terrorist aspect."
Despite restating differences over Chechnya, Putin and Chirac stressed the need to boost trade ties between Russia and the European Union and insisted on Russia's role in global defence efforts after the September 11 U.S. attacks.
In an affair which has gained international exposure, Putin also said he was ready to consider a pardon for a Russian journalist jailed for high treason for telling Japanese media the Russian navy had dumped toxic waste in the Sea of Japan.
After a lull following the September 11 attacks and Russia's support for its crackdown on suspected terrorists, the United States last week renewed criticism of Moscow's use of force in Chechnya, pointing to indications of human rights abuses.
But Putin, on a brief visit to Paris before heading off to Poland, insisted Russia's operations there were fully justified.
"On September 11, the world trembled because the attack on the World Trade Center was a crime against all of humanity. But Russia trembled well before that when hundreds of people were killed in explosions at buildings in Moscow," he said.
"The blood of Russians who died in Moscow is of the same colour as the blood of the people who perished on September 11," said Putin, speaking through an interpreter.
Chirac, who publicly disagreed with Putin over Chechnya during a meeting last July, said France firmly condemned all terror acts.
"But the Chechen problem cannot be reduced only to the terrorist aspect...Its solution justifies the resumption of a political dialogue," he added.
CONTACTS HALTED
Russia, which has admitted to only two hours of peace talks with Chechen rebels in nearly two and a half years of war, said on Monday all contacts had been halted because Chechen rebels had refused to surrender their arms.
On economic ties, Chirac said he would push for the European Union to discuss in coming months how trade with Russia could be enhanced, while Putin noted there was potential for trade with France in particular to be increased.
Putin also said he was ready to consider a pardon for journalist Grigory Pasko, sentenced for high treason in December for telling Japanese media the Russian navy had dumped toxic waste in the Sea of Japan.
The sentenced has triggered protests in Russia and provoked diplomatic rumblings as Moscow slammed two U.S. diplomats who said they attended a rally of his supporters last week as observers.
"If a request is made for a presidential pardon, it will be studied," Putin said of Pasko's case.
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