Lisbon, 05/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - After the meeting in Lisbon between the European Union Council President Jaime Gama, the Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs Knut Vollebaek, who Presided until the end of December 1999 over the OSCE Council (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe), asserted before the press that it had to continue placing "political pressure" on Russia so that she accepts a cease fire in Chechnya. Mr. Vollebaek feels that the OSCE should place such pressure, in collaboration with the European Union, as soon as possible,. He underlined that the dramatic situation and the lack of security of which the civil population of the northern Caucasus suffers from and which he witnessed last December.