dailynews.yahoo.com
US Concerned By Chechnya Violence, Urges Dialogue [very touching]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said Friday it was troubled by a rocket strike that
killed and wounded scores in a crowded market in Chechnya's capital of Grozny and urged Russia to
pursue a political solution.
The White House said it had made its concerns known through the U.S. ambassador in Moscow and
urged Russia not to repeat the errors of its 1994-96 war in the rebel province that killed tens of
thousands and ended in a humiliating Russian withdrawal.
''There is a tragic situation there with terrible loss of life,'' White House spokesman Joe Lockhart told reporters. ''It is certainly
troubling to see this kind of loss of life and we have repeated to the Russians that we believe that a constructive political dialogue is
the only way to end this and that we should not repeat the mistakes of 1994 and 1996.''[of course all the loss of life in Yugoslavia was not too terrible, afterall it was Milosevic's fault]
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blamed the carnage at the marketplace on rival Chechen gangs, saying Moscow's forces
had nothing to do with the blast that left at least 60 dead, including women and children.
Chechen fighters in Grozny said the blast was caused by surface-to-surface missiles.
Noting the conflicting reports, the White House said it was trying to figure out what happened. [really?]
''We will continue, regardless of this incident, to make clear to the Russians and to both parties that there is no way to find a
purely military solution to this situation,'' he added. ''There needs to be a constructive political dialogue and ... both parties need to
engage in that dialogue.''[LOL...this is the pits...but I forget, the Raimboullet scam was also blamed on Milo for refusing to talk...]
Russian leaders say they are determined not to repeat the mistakes of its 1994-96 war Chechnya, but they also say they are
determined to root out Islamic rebels who are blamed for bomb blasts in Russia.
It is difficult to see how they can do that without either seizing or negotiating their way into cities, including Grozny, where the
guerrillas operate freely. |
