Russian Govt Slams US for Chechnya Position

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 25, 2002

Russian Govt Slams US for Chechnya Position

Russia's government slammed U.S. officials Thursday for meeting a rebel Chechen envoy, and bristled at a Council of Europe resolution deploring human rights abuses in the breakaway province.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Russia's government slammed U.S. officials Thursday for meeting a rebel Chechen envoy, and bristled at a Council of Europe resolution deploring human rights abuses in the breakaway province.

The unhappy Russian responses came amid revived international criticism of Moscow's 2-year-old war in Chechnya, criticism that had subsided last fall after Russia expressed strong support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a recent meeting between Ilyas Akhmadov, the Chechen separatists' chief international " diplomat ", and U.S. State Department officials "runs counter to the spirit of cooperation and partnership between the two countries in the fight against international terrorism."

"The U.S. administration, which says it is necessary to fight any manifestations of terrorism around the world, is actually encouraging Chechen terrorists who continue bandit attacks against Russian servicemen, representatives of the local administration and civilians," the statement said.

Akhmadov's meetings with U.S. officials have angered Russians before. U.S. officials insist the meetings are part of several contacts in efforts to promote a peaceful solution to the war.

Meanwhile, Russian officials also criticized a resolution by the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly urging Russia to boost political efforts to end the war and denouncing a lack of Russian progress in improving human rights for Chechen civilians.

Kremlin envoy Sergei Yastrzhembsky dismissed accusations of human rights abuses. "This is evidently an echo of the discussion about how U.S. servicemen treat Taliban and al-Qaida fighters," he was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

He and Russia's chief delegate to the parliamentary assembly, Leonid Slutsky, protested the resolution's suggestion that crimes committed in Chechnya be tackled under the Geneva Convention on protecting civilians in war. They said the convention applies only to wars between states.

"This is a counter-terrorist operation being carried out by the federal authorities on their own territory, not an interstate conflict," Yastrzhembsky was quoted as saying.

Questions?Comments? Click here

US Criticizes Russia's Operations in Chechnya

US Confirms Meeting Between US, Chechen Officials