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RUSSIA'S PUTIN SAYS SYRIA VIOLENCE COULD HIT EX-SOVIET BLOC
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Sept 23 2013
23 September 2013 /REUTERSİ SOCHI
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned ex-Soviet allies on Monday
that Islamist militancy fuelling the war in Syria could reach their
countries, some of which have Muslim majorities.
Russia, which has a large Muslim minority of its own and is fighting
an Islamist insurgency, has accused the West of helping militants
by seeking Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's removal without paying
enough attention to the potential consequences.
Putin told leaders of the six-nation Collective Security Treaty
Organisation (CSTO) that militants fighting Assad could eventually
expand attacks beyond Syria and the Middle East.
"The militant groups (in Syria) did not come out of nowhere, and they
will not vanish into thin air," Putin said.
"The problem of terrorism spilling from one country to another is
absolutely real and could directly affect the interests of any one
of our countries," he said, citing the deadly attack on a shopping
mall in Nairobi as an example.
"We are now witnessing a terrible tragedy unfold in Kenya. The
militants came from another country, as far as we can judge, and are
committing horrendous bloody crimes," Putin said at a CSTO summit in
the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
His words appeared to be a warning about violence spreading from both
Syria and Afghanistan, which shares a long border with CSTO member
Tajikistan in Central Asia. The security alliance also includes
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Belarus.
Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan all have mostly Muslim
populations.
Russian officials have expressed concern that Russian-born militants
fighting in Syria could return to Russia's North Caucasus and join
an insurgency that claims lives almost daily.
They have also voiced worries that violence could spread into former
Soviet Central Asia and Russia after the withdrawal of most Western
troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year.
Russia has been one of Syria's strongest backers in a conflict that
has killed more than 100,000 people since it began in March 2011,
delivering arms to Assad's forces and joining China in blocking
Western-backed initiatives in the U.N. Security Council.
Russia, which has echoed Assad's contention that he is fighting al
Qaeda-inspired Islamists rather than a popular revolt against his
autocratic rule, has warned the West that military intervention in
Syria would play into the hands of the militants.
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Sept 23 2013
23 September 2013 /REUTERSİ SOCHI
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned ex-Soviet allies on Monday
that Islamist militancy fuelling the war in Syria could reach their
countries, some of which have Muslim majorities.
Russia, which has a large Muslim minority of its own and is fighting
an Islamist insurgency, has accused the West of helping militants
by seeking Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's removal without paying
enough attention to the potential consequences.
Putin told leaders of the six-nation Collective Security Treaty
Organisation (CSTO) that militants fighting Assad could eventually
expand attacks beyond Syria and the Middle East.
"The militant groups (in Syria) did not come out of nowhere, and they
will not vanish into thin air," Putin said.
"The problem of terrorism spilling from one country to another is
absolutely real and could directly affect the interests of any one
of our countries," he said, citing the deadly attack on a shopping
mall in Nairobi as an example.
"We are now witnessing a terrible tragedy unfold in Kenya. The
militants came from another country, as far as we can judge, and are
committing horrendous bloody crimes," Putin said at a CSTO summit in
the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
His words appeared to be a warning about violence spreading from both
Syria and Afghanistan, which shares a long border with CSTO member
Tajikistan in Central Asia. The security alliance also includes
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Belarus.
Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan all have mostly Muslim
populations.
Russian officials have expressed concern that Russian-born militants
fighting in Syria could return to Russia's North Caucasus and join
an insurgency that claims lives almost daily.
They have also voiced worries that violence could spread into former
Soviet Central Asia and Russia after the withdrawal of most Western
troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year.
Russia has been one of Syria's strongest backers in a conflict that
has killed more than 100,000 people since it began in March 2011,
delivering arms to Assad's forces and joining China in blocking
Western-backed initiatives in the U.N. Security Council.
Russia, which has echoed Assad's contention that he is fighting al
Qaeda-inspired Islamists rather than a popular revolt against his
autocratic rule, has warned the West that military intervention in
Syria would play into the hands of the militants.