Sarkozy rejects Basque call to join peace talks

MADRID, July 1 (Reuters) French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy brushed off demands by Basque nationalists that Paris join peace talks, saying separatism was a Spanish problem.

Batasuna, a party banned for its links to guerrilla group ETA, has demanded France join talks over the Basque Country, which straddles the Spanish-French border.

''France has always worked hand in hand with Spain in the fight against terrorism ... but the subject of ETA is a question for Spain,'' Sarkozy told reporters today, after meeting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

French police have arrested dozens of ETA suspects in recent months, playing a key role in weakening the group that has fought for independence for almost four decades, killing about 850 people.

However, France has always said ETA is Madrid's problem.

Zapatero announced on Thursday that the Spanish government would start peace talks with ETA, which declared a ceasefire in March.

The talks are expected to focus on issues like disarmament and moving ETA prisoners to jails closer to home. Sarkozy declined to comment on what might happen to ETA members being held in French prisons.

A second set of talks between Spanish political parties on the future of the Basque Country is also due to kick off in the next two weeks. Sarkozy said Zapatero would keep France up to date on the talks.

Batasuna wrote an open letter to French President Jacques Chirac yesterday, calling on Paris to ''reject the path of repression (and) ... join this democratic approach''.

Reuters SHR VV2242