21.   Schroeder met with Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, and both pledged to ensure that Russian-German relations would continue to flourish.

22.   Such relations continue to flourish today.

23.   While not requiring annual presidential reviews as the Jackson-Vanik law provides, trade relations would continue to be linked to Russia observing emigration freedom and human rights.

24.   Greek Foreign Minister Carolos Papoulias said Monday that Athens would close its border to Albanian migrant workers if bilateral relations continued to deteriorate.

25.   Bogota at first flatly denied the request but as US-Colombian relations continued to plummet, Samper reconsidered.

26.   But relations continued to deteriorate, with France refusing to hold a referendum on unifying the south and north.

27.   While political ties across the Taiwan Straits remain frosty, economic relations continue to strengthen with the mainland authorities easing travel restrictions on Taiwanese businessmen.

28.   Leghari expressed the hope that Islamabad-Colombo relations would continue to be strengthened.

29.   Relations would continue in their present form because European stability was in the interest of both the United States and Russia, Bacon stressed.

30.   Should Sino-US relations continue to slide even further, Wu could also become a useful bargaining chip for Beijing to force compromises out of Washington.