Mexico's Fox vows drive to solve Chiapas conflict

BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) -- Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox pledged on Thursday to do everything necessary to solve the conflict in the southern state of Chiapas.

Fox said he had discussed human rights and the Chiapas conflict during talks in Brussels on Thursday with European Union leaders, including European Commission President Romano Prodi, External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten and chief foreign policy representative Javier Solana.

The talks also dealt with how both sides could benefit from an EU-Mexico free trade agreement which took effect on July 1.

At a news conference after the talks, Fox stressed his determination to end the armed stand-off in Chiapas between the government and Zapatista rebels fighting for Indian rights.

"We are willing to do anything that is needed to solve the conflict," Fox said.

"I have mentioned that I am willing to go and meet with Ejercito Zapatista (Zapatista army) directly and in person and willing to remove all the obstacles so we have a Chiapas ready to move ahead with economic development and with human development," he added.

Fox, who will take office in December after breaking the Institutional Revolutionary Party's stranglehold on power in the July election, said he had invited the Zapatista rebels to restart a dialogue.

He said he would "put through an initiative" accepting the 1996 San Andres peace accords, which were never ratified by outgoing President Ernesto Zedillo's administration.

He was also ready to remove the army from the indigenous communities back to their original positions "as long as we are in a serious, professional, honest dialogue to solve the conflict."

"We are waiting for the Ejercito Zapatista to react to our proposals and start the dialogue and solve the problem," he added.

Fox said it would be a high priority for his government to "make things happen" on the EU-Mexico trade agreement.

"Mexico now has this strategic situation with a trade agreement on NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) with the U.S. and Canada, and an agreement with Europe," he said.

Prodi said he believed the EU and Mexico were in a position to start "a new era of economic, political and cultural relations."

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