MEETING IN THE VATICAN ON SITUATION IN BASQUE REGION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 2, 2000 (VIS) - At midday today, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls made the following declaration:

"On Saturday September 30, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for relations with States, met the Spanish minister of the interior, Jaime Mayor Oreja, and the Basque Lendakari (president of the autonomous government), Juan Jose Ibarretxe. The two men had come to the Vatican for the canonization of Maria Josefa del Corazon de Jesus Sancho de Guerra on October 1.

"The discussions provided an opportunity for a wide-ranging exchange of opinions on the local situation. In addition to expressing a vigorous condemnation for the terrorism of ETA and for any other form of violence, they also considered the present and future prospects of a peaceful solution, as well as to the contribution that the Catholic Church can continue to offer in this regard."

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