Abdu Ganadi, the spokesman for Saleh's ruling General People Congress party (GPC), said that Saleh's stance does not represent the official position of the party, but is a condition that Saleh has put on the table in exchange for him leaving the country.

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But he does not appear to think, as many do, that this was because they thought Srebrenica could not be held and that it would be better to lose it in war than give it up at the peace table in exchange for land elsewhere.

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To this end the French have been quietly talking to the Chinese, trying to get the idea of exchange-rate co-ordination on the table.

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