Yastrzhembsky: Western public must recognize that events in Chechnya are related to fighting international terrorism (interview)On October 2nd, Assistant to Russian President Sergei YASTRZHEMBSKY held a press conference in the Media Centre of the Izvestia newspaper. After the press conference, Mr. Yastrzhembsky answered questions of Izvestia correspondent Yevgeny CHUBAROV.
Question: What is your opinion of the present level of the Russian-American cooperation?
Answer: Never before has cooperation between Russian and the U.S. special services been so close. All information that might be of interest to the Americans is immediately passed on to them.
We receive similar data from the U.S. and European countries. The terrorist attacks on the U.S. have proved that you cannot fight against international terrorism on your own. Russia started to combat terrorism on its territory much earlier and it has experience in battling terrorism that the West lacks at this point. I believe that one of the conclusions we can draw from the tragedy in the U.S. is that we should leave double standards behind. He should stop dividing terrorists into good and bad.
Russia has overwhelming evidence that terrorist actions are financed through Osama bin Laden and his organisation Al Qaeda.
Those who sent kamikazes to New York and Washington worked on terrorist attacks in Chechnya among other places.
Question: Is it true that some of the materials that Russian special services have provided their U.S. counterparts contain information testifying that Osama bin Laden was involved in terrorist attacks on the U.S.?
Answer: I do not know. I will ask my colleagues in the Federal Security Service to hold a briefing on this topic. I have no ground to answer this question positively or negatively.
Question: In you opinion, to what extent has the attitude to the war in Chechnya changed in the West in the aftermath of the recent developments?
Answer: The statements by the U.S. president and the German chancellor and consideration of the situation in Chechnya in Strasbourg show that the fact that events in Chechnya are related to fighting international terrorism is gradually being comprehended by the West. It is crucial that the Western public fully recognises the fact that connections between rebels in Chechnya and international organisations headed by Osama to bin Laden exist.
Question: Is it possible to say that military actions in Chechnya would intensify after the term set by the Russian president is over?
Answer: This is certainly true of special operations in Novye and Starye Atagi, as well as of targeted actions that do not affect regular live in Chechnya. Certain limitations have been introduced. Two settlements have been blocked to find and neutralise the militants that established a conspiracy network there. We should also concentrate on the possible appearance of rebels from the territory of Georgia, which would happen if actions against them were initiated in this country. I do not predict that life in Chechnya is going to stabilise in the near future.
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