Russian President Vladimir Putin has a succinct message for US President George W. Bush's administration: Stop the lectures on how he should deal with his Chechen problem.
Russian policy toward Chechnya has been a sore point between Washington and Moscow for years, and now there is the added US worry of a possible decisive shift to authoritarianism in Russia.
Putin clearly was irritated when, four days after the Beslan school massacre, the State Department recommended a political solution in Chechnya, the epicenter of radical Islam in Russia.
As Putin saw it, the administration proposal was tantamount to suggesting that Bush negotiate with the architects of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the US.
Meeting with US and other foreign visitors, Putin asked: "Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?"
Among those who heard Putin that day was Clifford Kupchan, of the Washington-based Nixon Center, a private research group.
According to Kupchan, Putin also expressed irritation at what he described as the tendency in Washington to call Chechen militants "separatists" instead of "terrorists."
Countering Putin, the State Department officials say they have never recommended that Putin deal with Chechen terrorists, and they have not been shy about using the word "terrorists" to describe the authors of the Beslan massacre, the August airplane bombings and other acts of terror growing out of the Chechen crisis.
Bush minced no words on Tuesday in his UN speech about the dangers Russia faces: "This month in Beslan we saw, once again, how the terrorists measure their success -- in the death of the innocent, and in the pain of grieving families."
Still, Secretary of State Colin Powell admits the administration may have offered political advice on Chechnya to the Russians too quickly in the aftermath of Beslan.
"We, perhaps, might have, you know, been a little more sensitive in the heat of the moment," Powell now says.
Since taking office, Powell has been extremely careful in his public comments on Russia. Offending Moscow could mean less Russian cooperation in the war on terror, nonproliferation and a host of other issues.
Powell also believes that a democratic Russia is consistent with US values and security interests.
His thesis is that only through democracy can the two countries forge close security, political and economic ties.
Recent developments have not been encouraging.
Just days after Beslan, Putin seemed to jerk his country backward by stripping Russians of their right to elect governors and district representatives in the legislature.
"We do have concerns," Powell said in a cautious initial response. In the pursuit of terrorists, he said, a proper balance is needed to ensure that democratic processes are respected.
He was planning to raise the issue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the UN yesterday.
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
RSS