Russian diplomat lashes West over terror-asylum

MOSCOW – Russia’s foreign minister accused Western countries of exercising double standards by granting asylum to Chechen separatists, saying the moves weaken global anti-terror efforts, according to a newspaper interview published yesterday.

Sergey Lavrov’s comments in the Vremya Novostei newspaper reflected long time Russian anger over what Moscow sees as the West’s receptiveness to Chechen militants accused of a string of recent terrorist attacks. The attacks – the downing of two airliners apparently by explosions, a suicide bombing outside a Moscow subway station and last week’s school hostage-taking in the town of Beslan that ended in a bloody frenzy and more than 300 deaths – prompted officials to offer a huge cash reward for information leading to the killing or capture of top Chechen rebel leaders and a pledge to go after terrorists all over the world.Russia consistently brushes off criticism that its policies in Chechnya and the brutality of its troops there feed resentment that boosts support for rebels waging a five-year insurgency.The Kremlin instead contends that the militants are trained and supported by international terrorist groups, like al Qaeda.”Granting asylum to people involved in terrorism – and Russia has documented evidence of this – not only causes us regret but also effectively undermines the unity of the anti-terrorist coalition,” Lavrov was quoted as saying.- Nampa-APThe attacks – the downing of two airliners apparently by explosions, a suicide bombing outside a Moscow subway station and last week’s school hostage-taking in the town of Beslan that ended in a bloody frenzy and more than 300 deaths – prompted officials to offer a huge cash reward for information leading to the killing or capture of top Chechen rebel leaders and a pledge to go after terrorists all over the world.Russia consistently brushes off criticism that its policies in Chechnya and the brutality of its troops there feed resentment that boosts support for rebels waging a five-year insurgency.The Kremlin instead contends that the militants are trained and supported by international terrorist groups, like al Qaeda.”Granting asylum to people involved in terrorism – and Russia has documented evidence of this – not only causes us regret but also effectively undermines the unity of the anti-terrorist coalition,” Lavrov was quoted as saying.- Nampa-AP