Russian State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov said on October 23 that neither the United States nor any other NATO country has the right to teach Russia how to act in the breakaway republic of Chechnya and the North Caucasus region as a whole.

　 The speaker of the lower house of parliament was responding to comments by US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott that Moscow should take necessary steps to find a political solution to the Chechen conflict.

　 Seleznyov said Russia stands ready to hold talks with the Chechens, but they have to abide by Russian laws, accept that Chechnya is a part of Russia and refrain from using terrorism as a means to realize their political aims, the Interfax news agency reported.

　 He said Chechen President Aslav Maskhadov has in effect become a hostage to Chechen terrorists Shamil Basayev and Khattab.

　 Russia launched a massive campaign against Islamic militants following armed incursions into Daghestan led by Basayev and Khattab and a spate of terrorist bombings that killed some 300 people in Moscow and two other Russian cities.

　 Both Basayev and Khattab have been accused of masterminding the blasts, accusations the two denied.

　 Seleznyov said the terrorists must be eradicated and that the actions by federal troops in Chechnya have not violated any international humanitarian norms.

　 The speaker's view was echoed by Vladimir Lukin, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma, Interfax reported.

　 "Why did the Americans resort to the use of force in resolving the acute conflict in Kosovo, despite Russia's proposal for a political solution?" Lukin asked.

　 However, Lukin said he shares Talbott's preference for political solution. But this requires a negotiating partner who wants to settle this extremely difficult situation, he said.

　Talbott's ideas were put into practice before and yielded no result, he said. "We got only aggression in Daghestan, apartment bombings and terrorist attacks throughout the country," he added.