Putin says will aid Afghan opposition -- lawmaker
MOSCOW, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ruled out sending troops to Afghanistan as part of U.S. operations there, but pledged to help the Northern Alliance opposition, a liberal parliamentarian said.
Putin, speaking to top parliamentarians in the Kremlin, said Russia "will not send our soldiers to Afghanistan, but we shall open corridors and we shall help the Northern Alliance," Boris Nemtsov, head of the liberal SPS, told Interfax news agency.
Putin was laying out his views of impending U.S. strikes, expected in response to the hijacked airliner attacks in the United States.