Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero met with the Basque regional president on Thursday to discuss ways to end decades of separatist violence by the armed group ETA and the general situation in the northern region following last month's elections. With Basque, Spanish and European Union flags flying in the background, Zapatero met and shook hands with Juan Jose Ibarretxe on the steps of the premier's Moncloa residence. The talks come as Ibarretxe tries to form a new regional government after his Basque Nationalist Party won April 17 elections but fell short of a majority in the 75-seat legislature. Ibarretxe's party has held office in the Basque region since the first elections in 1979. Zapatero and Ibarretxe are also expected to discuss the possibility of an end to the separatist violence of ETA, which has claimed more than 800 lives since 1968. Speculation of a cease-fire has risen over the past year with ETA seen to be seriously weakened by police action in France and Spain, the Associated Press reported.
