(9 Jan 1980) The West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt meets President Giscard d'Estaing on their policies over the Soviet presence in Afghanistan at the Elysee Palace in Paris. As the Soviet Union faced an American grain embargo imposed over the Russian intervention in Afghanistan, the leaders of America's NATO allies, France and West Germany, meet in Paris to discuss their differing policies to the crisis. Both Schmidt and d'Estaing have condemned the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, while at the same time refusing to follow President Carter's lead and apply sanctions of their own. Schmidt, accompanied by his wife, arrived in Paris from Madrid, where he had stressed that a continuing dialogue with Moscow was needed to prevent a return to what he called "the polarities of the cold war". But shortly before his arrival at the Elysee Palace, the French cabinet announced a less conciliatory line, charging the Soviet Union with "violating the basic principles" of international behaviour. The cabinet also demanded self- determination for Afghanistan. In a statement, the French government said its reading of affairs in Afghanistan explained the reason for the French vote in the UN Security Council last Tuesday (8th january) when France backed the United States in its condemnation of the Soviet presence.
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