Posted on 01/24/2002 8:59:39 AM PST by Pericles
Thursday January 24 11:04 AM ET
Russia Blasts U.S. 'Unfriendly Step' on Chechnya
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia accused the United States on Thursday of an ``unfriendly step'' in receiving an envoy representing Chechen separatists, and urged Washington to stand by its commitment to fight terrorism.
The Foreign Ministry said it had been surprised by the Washington meeting on Wednesday between a State Department official and Ilyas Akhmadov, ``foreign minister'' of Chechnya's separatist leaders.
``...Such contacts, no matter what the justification, cannot be seen as anything other than an unfriendly step toward Russia, contradicting the spirit of cooperation and partnership of both countries in acting against international terrorism,'' a ministry statement said.
It said there was increasing proof of links between Chechen separatists, whom Russia has been battling in two post-Soviet campaigns, and Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda group the United States has been fighting in Afghanistan.
``Linked to this there is one question: whether the American side is finding itself in the grip of old stereotypes and continues to divide terrorists into 'good ones' and 'bad ones,''' the statement said.
Russia used almost identical language in a protest to Britain earlier this week over a London meeting between a Foreign Office official and a representative of rebel Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov.
A Maskhadov envoy met a Kremlin representative at a Moscow airport last November, for the only peace talks in two-and-a-half years of war. But no one has since returned to the negotiating table.
Akhmed Zakayev, the separatist envoy, told Reuters on Thursday that the rebels were in telephone contact with the Kremlin. But there are no immediate plans to relaunch talks.
Moscow has been engaged in its second post-Soviet military campaign in Chechnya since 1999, after two years of fighting ended in 1996 with an embarrassing withdrawal.
Russian troops now control most of Chechnya on the country's southern flank and have installed pro-Moscow local authorities. But rebels regularly attack Russian army convoys, and scores of pro-Moscow officials have been killed in explosions or ambushes.
Putin's support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorist drive and insistence that Chechen fighters were linked to the Al Qaeda group held responsible for the September 11 airline attacks led to a softening of Western criticism of Russia's military drive.
But as the Afghan campaign winds down, Western countries, including the United States, have resumed criticism of Moscow's tactics, accusing Russian troops of using excessive force.
Does anyone now doubt that the USA had links to al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda linked groups like the Chechens, Albanians and Bosnians as shown in BIN LADEN GATE? The only nation on earth to recognize Chechnya was Afghanistan's Taliban government. Do you like the company we keep, Freepers?
there was increasing proof of links between Chechen separatists, whom Russia has been battling in two post-Soviet campaigns, and Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda group the United States has been fighting in Afghanistan. Read the Newsweek article on the subject The Chechen and al-Qaeda Connection
The Russians knew this was comming and planned ahead as shown here @ Central Asian terror crack-down to focus on three groups (Russia, China and the 'Stans Exclude USA).
You know who else does not trust the USA? The Northern Alliance Chinese enter Afghan arena "likely to limit Western influence in Afghanistan". I am disgusted but not suprised.
I will fly my flag upside down again.
I don't know who to blame but someone should be fired.
Kingmakers, nationbuilders and mandarins all (these words are insults, btw). Why people continue to trust any government to be straight on anything confounds me. And some here wonder why other's in the world hate the United States so much? It has nothing to do with our mythical "freedom", nor has it much to do with our prosperity. It does, however, have a lot to do with actions like detailed in this article.
You crack me up.
No doubt, but time will tell (a day or two to see if this is taken back by the Administration).
Evil, horrible creatures that run all governments, period. They all think they are The Prince of literary fame, but in reality they're scrawny little oily men without a shred of morality or virtue. Sorry, its just one of those days for me.
Then I'd shell some more.
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The really pathetic thing is that we are double-crossing ourselves.
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