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Chechnya takes precedence over Afghanistan for Russia,
says defence minister
Interfax
Yekaterinburg, 6 December: The fight against international terrorism should not be limited to the territory of Afghanistan, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov told the press in Yekaterinburg on Thursday [6 December].
"Terrorist organizations have made their nests not only and not so much in Afghanistan. Dozens of countries are no less interesting in this sense for Russia, the United States, Great Britain and other nations fighting against international terrorism," he noted.
Russia is much more interested in the complete defeat of gangs in Chechnya than in the whereabouts of Bin Ladin, Ivanov said. The federal force in Chechnya is strong enough and the number of military units stationed there is larger than necessary. Therefore, some of the military units will be withdrawn from Chechnya next year but the intensity of activities in the Northern Caucasus will not be reduced, Ivanov remarked.
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