A London-based Chechen rebel representative said Wednesday that Russia's threats to attack terrorists around the world amount to a warning to European countries that Russian forces could carry out assassinations on their soil.
Akhmed Zakayev, an envoy for rebel leader and former Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov said such a strike by Russian forces would create a dangerous precedent.
Assassinations
"It is a warning to other European countries that Russia may come and carry out an assassination on your soil at any moment," he said.
Earlier Wednesday, Colonel General Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the Russian General Staff, warned that Russia's military will strike "terrorist bases in any region of the world."
The threat came in the aftermath of the school hostage crisis in southern Russia that ended in the deaths of more than 300 people.
"I think these are probably not empty threats. In fact they have already shown in practice that that is the way they do things," Zakayev said through an interpreter in London.
Russian officials have accused Maskhadov and other Chechen rebel leaders of masterminding the attack. According to aides, Maskhadov has denied any involvement in last week's school siege.
Russian officials are also seeking Zakayev's extradition from London, where he's been granted political asylum.
Authorities also offered a US$10 million reward for information leading to the capture of Maskhadov and another rebel leader, Shamil Basayev.
"It is a very disturbing signal they are sending for all civilized countries," Zakayev said. He added that it's especially worrying for Chechens who speak freely about their dissatisfaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin's policies.
"To Putin, that makes them international terrorists," he said.
Qatar car bomb
In February, Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev was killed in a car bombing in the Gulf nation of Qatar. Two Russian agents were convicted for the bombing. Russia has denied involvement in the assassination.
"I just know that until the war in Chechnya is over, nobody is safe from the fate that befell Yandarbiyev," Zakayev said.
Zakayev was dismissive of statements from the Russian Foreign Ministry that it would renew attempts to extradite him and others it says are linked with terrorism.
"We have a British court decision that is clear. We think it is no problem," Zakayev said.
"We think Russia is doing this because they want to take away attention from the murders in Beslan," he added.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS