POWELL SAYS RUSSIA FIGHTING TERRORISTS IN CHECHNYA…

While visiting the Pratica Di Mare Air Force Base in Rome, Italy following the recent Moscow summit, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell answered a question concerning how he characterized the war in Chechnya by stating: “With respect to Chechnya, Chechnya is an area of enormous interest to the international community. Russia is fighting terrorists in Chechnya, there is no question about that, and we understand that. But at the same time, we believe that a political solution is really what Russia also needs to find a way to achieve. And we have always said to the Russians that in their prosecution of this campaign against terrorism, they have to make sure that the troops participating in it and other elements of the Russian armed forces and security forces have to meet the highest standards of human rights that one would expect from a civilized country” (www.state.gov, May 28).