Yeltsin, Chirac Hold Telephone Talks on Chechnya

����Russian President Boris Yeltsin and his French counterpart, Jacques Chirac, held a telephone conversation October 17 on Chechnya and a number of international issues.

����The federal authorities' aim in Chechnya is to "eliminate the seat of international terrorism 9991 to bring back the republic to the constitutional field of Russia and to ensure normal life for the population of Chechnya and the adjacent territories," the Kremlin press service quoted Yeltsin as saying during the conversation.

����Russia "is using adequate ways and means as regards the gangs in Chechnya and "is doing everything possible to help the civilian population, including those who have temporarily left the territory of Chechnya," Yeltsin said.

����Yeltsin also informed Chirac how the situation in North Caucasus is developing "considering the interest displayed by the French head of state," the Interfax news agency quoted the Kremlin

����press service as saying.

����Chirac, in his turn, expressed understanding of the Russian leadership's position and reaffirmed France's invariable adherence to the principles of the territorial integrity of the Russian

����Federation.

����He voiced confidence that the Russian authorities will ensure a solution to the problem of Chechnya, stressing the significance of the political settlement through dialogue.

����Besides Chechnya, the two presidents also discussed some global issues. Particularly, they expressed common concern over the U.S. Senate's refusal to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty of nuclear weapons (CTBT) and over Washington's intention to revise the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty (ABM).

����They emphasized the need to coordinate efforts of the permanent U.N. Security Council members toward overcoming this trend, which is dangerous to international stability.