Russia Plans Pre-Emptive Strikes Against Global Terror Bases

MosNews | September 8 2004

Russia is prepared to launch pre-emptive strikes on bases used for training militants anywhere in the world, a senior general said Wednesday, after a joint Russia-NATO meeting in Brussels denounced the latest spate of attacks on Russian soil that killed well over 400 people.

“As for launching pre-emptive strikes on terrorist bases, we will carry out all measures to liquidate terrorist bases in any region of the world,” General Yuri Baluevsky was quoted by the Russian Information Agency Novosti as saying.

“However, this does not mean that we will launch nuclear strikes.”

“Today’s terrorism has changed considerably and has transformed from lone terrorists to terrorist groups,” Novosti quoted him as saying.

He stressed that during his talks with NATO joint armed forces chief commander James Jones, the two sides discussed the exchange of information on terrorist structures and cells.

The Reuters news agency quoted the spokesman for Chechnya’s main separatist leader as saying that the statement could mean that Russia will try to assassinate Chechens in the West.

“It is a threat toward Europe,” Akhmed Zakayev, envoy of Chehen leader Aslan Maskhadov, told Reuters. “I do not exclude that what they did in Qatar they could try to do in any European country.”

Qatar has convicted two Russian agents of the car bomb killing of a former Chechen rebel leader, Zelimkhan Yanderbiyev, in February.

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