Europe and Chechnya

Europe And Chechnya
Europe Should Back Chechnya War Effort

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview published Jyly 6th, said western Europe should be thankful for Moscow's military drive in Chechnya which he said was aimed against an Islamic fundamentalist conspiracy.

Putin, interviewed by the glossy French weekly Paris Match, said the drive against Chechen separatists was aimed at a much broader enemy inspired by fundamentalists like Saudi-born terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden.

"We are witnessing today the formation of a fundamentalist international, a sort of arc of instability extending from the Philippines to Kosovo," he told the weekly.

"This is very dangerous, for Europe in the first instance, because a large number of Moslems live there... Europe should be grateful to us and offer its appreciation for our fight against terrorism even if we are, unfortunately, waging it on our own."

Putin said it was a lie to say Russia was battling Islam. But he denounced the fundamentalists' aims as "fascist because they call for the formation of a united war front against Jews and 'those wearing crosses' as they describe Christians".

Russia describes its offensive against Chechen separatists as an "anti-terrorist operation", while Western leaders have periodically accused Moscow of disproportionate force. The campaign was a key point in helping Putin win election in March.

Russian forces captured Chechnya's capital Grozny in February after weeks of bombardment left it in ruins and later said they had secured control over most of the region. But the rebels have staged deadly ambushes in recent weeks, including suicide bomb attacks last weekend which left more than 30 dead.

In the interview, illustrated by several photographs of his Kremlin office, Putin said his proposals to right the Russian economy rested on bolstering state institutions and civil liberties and entrenching property rights.

"This must naturally be accompanied by the strengthening of the institutions of a market economy without taking from the rich to give to the poor," he said. "That would be the worst of all solutions."

He also called for improved relations between the Orthodox Church and the Vatican after Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexiy II made plain his opposition to suggestions that Putin might invite Pope John Paul II to visit Russia. Orthodox clerics accuse Catholics of trying to poach post-Soviet congregations.

"This is an urgent matter," he said. "If the Pope came to Moscow without meeting the patriarch it would be a scandal. This would not contribute to a rapprochement. The Pope is an intelligent man and he understands this full well."