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 | Monday, April 17, 2000, updated at 10:34(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Russian President Putin Arrives in LondonRussian President-elect Vladimir Putin arrived in London Sunday night on his first visit to the West since winning presidential election last month.Putin touched down at Heathrow airport ahead of meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth II on Monday. Through his visit to Britain, Putin clearly intends to improve an image badly damaged in the West by the war in rebel Chechnya. His program in London also includes meetings with British businessmen, trying to attract foreign investment. Local reports here said Tony Blair is set to discuss with Putin Russia's economy, relations with Europe and developments in Chechenya. Before leaving Moscow, Putin was quoted by Russian media as saying that his visit to Britain was in response to Blair's " willingness to cooperate with Russia." "We must reciprocate, and that is why my first visit to Western Europe is to Britain," Russian news agency Interfax quoted Putin as saying in Moscow. Blair, who met Putin last month before his election at a high-profile encounter in St Petersburg, made clear that he intended to take the Russian leader to task over alleged human rights excesses in Chechnya. Putin, who flew in from the former Soviet state of Belarus, is due to leave Britain late on Monday.
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