Moscow
27 December 2005
Making a distinction from the the war on terror
unleashed by the United States, Russia has called for creating a "new
united front" to combat terrorists "irrespective of their motives".
"No one country can fight terrorism, [so] a new united front for fighting
against terrorists must be created," the deputy minister in the Russian
foreign ministry, Mr Alexander Alekseyev, told this newspaper.
Observing that Osama bin Laden was still alive, he said India and Russia
recognised the need to "intensify interaction in opposing new challenges
and threats to international peace in both bilateral and multilateral
formats".
Echoing similar sentiments, the Russian military establishment
appreciated New Delhi's "attitude" to terrorism and said that both
countries were united in combating the threats emanating from Chechnya
and Jammu and Kashmir alike.
"We know what happens in Jammu and Kashmir, [it is] similar to the
terrorist threats from the Caucuses," a top military official observed. He
said there was a convergence of opinion on meeting the challenges
posed by terrorism.
Dwelling on the "possibility of appearance of new threats," Mr Alekseyev
said terrorism has acquired an international dimension and cited the
presence of "terrorists with foreign passports" in Chechnya to underline
Moscow's concerns.
He said India and Russia have "reaffirmed their strong commitment to
strengthening their [ties] and expressed their firm conviction that their
strategic partnership plays a role of an important stability factor in the
international affairs."
"Osama [bin Laden] is still alive and under his orders, terrorist acts [are
carried out] across the world," he said. "Terrorists do not have
nationalities, they do not obey national borders," he added for good
measure.
Sources said the call for a united front against terrorism flows from
concerns over reports the US freed bandits after capturing them in
Afghanistan, which posed threats to countries in the region.
Russia's lower House of Parliament recently approved a Bill that imposes
strict curbs on NGOs. The Kremlin's publicly stated rationale for the new
law is to combat money-laundering for the war on terrorism.
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