Parents of kidnapped girl come to amicable agreement

The parents of Elise Andre, who have repeatedly kidnapped the girl from each other in their ‘tug of love,’ have reached an amicable agreement. That is according to her mother’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena.

Kucherena said he had spent no fewer than five hours at a hotel in Avignon, France, negotiating with the girl’s father, Jean-Michel Andre, his lawyer and a Russian diplomat from the Embassy in Paris.

According to Kucherena, he and his client, Irina Belenkaya, are ready to engage in legal proceedings and "this should all be aimed at allowing both Andre and Belenkaya to communicate with the child, and to bring her up."

"This is the most important issue and today we have come to an agreement," he said.

The participants in the meeting have not disclosed the details of the future agreement, but it is known that the sides will have a series of meetings in the near future before it is finalized.

Three-year-old Elise has been kidnapped three times by her parents during the past two years.

The last time she was kidnapped was from Jean-Michel Andre on March 20. The man was bitten during the incident and said he recognized Elise’s mother among the kidnappers.

On April 13, Irina Belenkaya and her daughter were detained while attempting to cross the Hungarian –Ukrainian border. Irina Belenkaya is currently in custody in Hungary and the girl is with her father in France.