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World in brief

Putin offers aid to Palestinians

By wire services
Published April 30, 2005

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Friday to provide the new Palestinian leaders with helicopters and other equipment and training to help maintain order after Israel's promised withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank this summer.

In the first visit to the Palestinian territories by a Kremlin leader, Putin also pledged to help the Palestinians rebuild their infrastructure with an eye toward a viable Palestinian state.

Putin promised any assistance to the Palestinians would be coordinated with both sides, saying "we want this cooperation to be absolutely open."

The Palestinians and Moscow have a long history of political and cultural cooperation dating to the Cold War, when the Soviet Union backed Arab states and the Palestinians in their fight against the U.S.-backed Israelis. About 15,000 Palestinians, including Mahmoud Abbas, studied in Russia.

Putin's three-day Mideast trip is seen as an attempt to bolster Russia's standing and raise its profile in Mideast peacemaking. Russia is one of the four cosponsors of the "road map" peace plan, along with the United States, United Nations and the European Union.

SANTIAGO, Chile - Chilean Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza was assured election Friday as the next secretary-general of the Organization of American States following the withdrawal of Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez from the race.

The announcement was made by Colombian Foreign Minister Carolina Barco following intense discussions involving Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Insulza, Derbez and other Latin American diplomats.

At a foreign ministers meeting in Washington last month, Insulza and Derbez were deadlocked at 17 votes apiece. The United States backed Derbez but said that either candidate would make an excellent secretary-general.

Rice and the other diplomats were in Chile for a meeting of the Community of Democracies, an organization of 108 nations that seek to promote democracy worldwide. Insulza is expected to be elected unanimously when the OAS reconvenes Monday in Washington to hold the formal election.

One of Chile's top political figures, Insulza, 62, is known by the nickname "The Panzer" for his political weight and influence. Among other priorities, Insulza mentioned the need to end the four-decade civil war in Colombia and the need to patrol the trafficking of small and light arms in the hemisphere.

EUROPE-IRAN TALKS: High-level European and Iranian talks in London aimed at convincing the Mideast nation to scrap its nuclear program ended in a deadlock Friday, officials said. Closed-door sessions between Iran and senior British, French, German officials failed to resolve Western demands that Iran end efforts to enrich uranium. All parties will attend talks in New York on May 2 on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

TOGO VIOLENCE: Black-clad, masked assailants torched a German cultural center Friday in Togo's latest postelection violence. The declared winner of the contested presidential vote vowed he would not allow the country to slip into civil war. Opposition coordinator Yawovi Agboyibo claimed 100 people were killed and more than 300 wounded by government loyalists and security forces in violence that erupted after Sunday's vote.

[Last modified April 30, 2005, 00:51:14]