The Algerian daily `Le Matin' said on Monday that the aim of a delegation from the EU troika arriving later in the day was to pressure the government to negotiate with the Islamists, Algerian radio reported.

The independent paper said the visit was not intended to stop the cycle of killings in Algeria, but "to ensure that the Algerian government shows more openness, that is, that they negotiate with the spokesmen of the Muslim fundamentalist killers" .

Another independent daily, `L'Authentique' said the mission would "serve to draw the attention of the European envoys to the fact that the European countries are accused of being too soft on those behind terrorism," the radio reported.

`El Watan' described the troika's visit as "delicate".

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.
 

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