#3 - JRL 8382 - JRL Home
Moscow Times
September 27, 2004
Kremlin Goes on a Western Offensive
By Simon Saradzhyan
Staff Writer

Having outlined its domestic policy for battling terrorism after Beslan, the Kremlin has launched a multi-pronged foreign policy offensive that combines sticks and carrots to secure the support of the international community in its efforts to cut financial and political support for militants in the North Caucasus.

While President Vladimir Putin fires salvo after salvo from Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spearheaded the foreign offensive in New York late last week, addressing the UN General Assembly and meeting with Western counterparts Thursday and floating a counterterrorism resolution among Security Council members Friday.

The resolution would widen a blacklist of terrorist groups and individuals, and introduce a system of penalties for those on the list and their sponsors that ranges from expedited extradition and travel bans to asset seizures and arms embargoes.

If applied across the board, the resolution would entail punitive measures against not only Chechen groups, but also Middle Eastern groups that resort to terror in an effort to force Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, UN diplomats told the Los Angeles Times.

If extended to punish Palestinians, the resolution would represent a dramatic shift in Russia's policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Moscow has previously condemned individual terrorist attacks by Palestinians and other Middle Eastern groups but refrained from labeling Palestinian groups as terrorist organizations.

"The time has come to renounce the double standard once and for all when it comes to terror, no matter what slogans it uses," Lavrov said in his address to the General Assembly on Thursday.

"Those who slaughtered children in Beslan and hijacked airplanes to attack America are creatures of the same breed," he said.

Also Thursday, Lavrov met with the foreign ministers of Britain, China and France, and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, whose countries hold the other permanent seats on the Security Council, to promote the initiative. Britain and China backed the proposal, while the United States said it would review it.

Senior Russian officials have repeatedly criticized the West for what they describe as double standards in the treatment of militant groups in the North Caucasus. Putin has accused the West of trying to distinguish separatists from terrorists and even compared the West's policy to "the appeasement" of Nazi Germany ahead of World War II.

Among other things, Moscow has been infuriated by U.S. and British court decisions to grant asylum to Chechen separatists Ilyas Akhmadov and Akhmed Zakayev. The Foreign Ministry also lashed out at the U.S. State Department for pledging to maintain contacts with moderate Chechen rebels.

Powell sought to control the damage last week by calling Lavrov to acknowledge that Washington should have been more sensitive in its comments after Beslan.

However, Powell still reiterated to Lavrov during a 30-minute meeting Thursday that Washington is concerned about Putin's plans to scrap individual races in State Duma elections and to nominate regional leaders for confirmation by local legislatures rather than have them elected by popular vote.

The Kremlin has insisted that the measures are a key part of an anti-terrorism package unveiled after the Sept. 1-3 Beslan hostage-taking, even though the idea of changing Duma elections was first floated half a year ago.

The anti-terror package also includes a new commission on the North Caucasus, the rebirth of the Nationalities Ministry, and a raft of some 40 anti-terror bills, some of which would further undermine Russia's already unsteady balance of liberties and security.

Criticism of the planned changes from Western politicians and the media has provoked sharp responses from Moscow, including assertions that the U.S. system of presidential elections is also not direct and, thus, imperfect, while the USA Patriot Act passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is arguably more repressive than Russia's existing laws to fight terror.

On Thursday, Putin fired another salvo in the war of words with the United States by accusing the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan of failing to stem the production and export of drugs to Russia and Europe via Central Asia.

The Kremlin also is not tolerating criticism in the Western press of its heavy-handed policies in Chechnya.

Sergei Yastrzhembsky, Putin's envoy on European Union relations, rebuked Western journalists on Wednesday for not portraying Russia in a better light.

Putin weighed in on Friday, telling a conference of international news agencies that terrorists rely on mass media to expand the psychological impact of their attacks and calling on journalists to become tools in the fight against terror.

While using political sticks to attempt to distance Western policymakers and the media from guerrillas in the North Caucasus, the Kremlin has not forgotten to pull out economic carrots. Among those offered in recent weeks were promises to finally level the playing field for Gazprom shares -- a move long sought by Western investors -- and to ratify the Kyoto Protocol to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The EU has been pushing for Russia's ratification, which it needs for the treaty to come into force.

This combination of sticks and carrots makes it clear that Moscow remains keen on maintaining constructive relations with both the United States and the EU. It also helps to alleviate fears in some circles that the Kremlin is willing to risk a new Cold War as it tackles separatism and extremism in the North Caucasus.

Putin is continuing to count on U.S. President George W. Bush as an ally and appears set to keep Russia in the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition formed after Sept. 11. At the same time, Russia can be expected to shore up support among its neighbors through anti-terror and security pacts, as is the case with the Central Asian republics that are now members of the Collective Security Pact Organization, the Shanghai Group or both.

Relations with the EU, which has asked for explanations over how Russian authorities handled the Beslan crisis, are more strained than those with the United States. However, differences will probably be papered over given the fact that the EU is Russia's largest trading partner and that the leaders of EU countries like Germany, France and Italy maintain good ties with Putin.