MOSCOW ø Russia has asserted that most of the Islamic volunteers
fighting in the Chechen war stem from Turkey.
Russian officials said Turks have provided most of the funding and many
of the insurgents in Chechnya. The officials
said Turkey has not done enough to halt the flow of Islamic financing and
personnel.
"There are mercenaries from about 10 foreign countries [in Chechnya],
the majority of whom are Turkish citizens," Russia's Defense Minister Sergei
Ivanov said. "These circumstances will inevitably have a negative
impact on the development of relations with Turkey."
[Vyacheslav Ushakov, deputy director of the Federal Security Service,
told the State Duma that other Middle East countries have helped Chechen
insurgents. Ushakov told parliament that what he termed terrorist
organizations have been financed by Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria, Middle East Newsline reported.]
Ivanov, speaking on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich on
Feb. 6, said most of the foreign operatives killed or captured in Chechnya
were Turkish nationals. He said many of the nationals enter Chechnya via
Georgia.
Russia has long sought Turkish cooperation regarding the halt to the
flow of funds, weapons and insurgents to Chechnya. Russian officials said
much of the recruitment for volunteers to fight the Russian army takes place
in Turkey.
On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was said to conclude
three days of talks with Russian officials in Moscow. Officials said the
visit, the first at the level of a Turkish minister since 1996, would focus
on cooperation against Islamic insurgents.
Ivanov said Russian troops killed a Turkish national on Feb. 2. He said
the Turk was found with an audio tape in which he addressed potential
recruits in Turkey.
Ushakov also predicted that Chechens would benefit from cheap weapons
arriving from Iraq. He said this would intensify the insurgency war.
"According to our data, three days before Baghdad's surrender, Saddam
Hussein ordered to distribute about 7 million units of weapons," Ushakov
said. "Thus, weapons have become cheap and easy of access."
