President Lennart Meri received Jean Jacques Subrenat, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of France to Estonia, who came to present his credentials, in Kadriorg today.

On the meeting following the presenting of the credentials, the President of the Republic and Ambassador Subrenat discussed matters important to both countries on international level. President of the Republic expressed his recognition of France and France's support to Estonia's objectives, saying that France has always been very close to Estonia and that besides the strong political support, Estonians have always felt strong attraction towards the French culture.

Ambassador Subrenat said that the positive solution of Estonia's visa obligation to Schengen countries is an important task for France and that many necessary decisions have already been made. The Ambassador especially mentioned Estonia's success in fortifying the eastern border, a process that has also been financially supported by France. The strength of the Estonian border is especially important considering the possibility that it may become the border of the European Union. As the Ambassador said, the extensive and systematic crisis situation in Russia is still disturbing. Speaking of the EU enlargement, Ambassador Subrenat confirmed that France supports the current enlargement procedures, where all the candidate countries can present their advantages.

Considering the close relations between France and Germany, the foreign policy trends of Germany under the new Government of Social Democrats, which according to the new State Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany can be considered to be the continuation of the previous foreign policy lines, were also discussed on the meeting.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, October 29, 1998

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