Arab League for the unity of Russian territories
Regional-Russia, Politics, 10/15/1999

Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid on Thursday received a message from Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on the crisis in Chechnya. The message was conveyed by the envoy for the Russian minister, Vladimir Pulakov.

Following the meeting which was attended by the Russian ambassador to Egypt, the Russian envoy said that he conveyed to the AL chief a message explaining the Russian viewpoint towards events in Chechnya.

Pulakov told journalists that his country seeks to make the "Arab and world public opinion understand the nature of events taking place in Chechnya and the attempts made by Russia to overcome terrorists."

Replying to a question on whether the Arab League chief understood the Russian viewpoints, the Russian envoy said, "The AL has showed complete understanding on the need to preserve the unity of the Russian territories."

The Russian envoy added that discussions dealt with the question of Chechnya and the importance of finding ways to eliminate terrorism bases, either by dialogue or by using force.

The AL chief said that in the course of the AL care toward Arab-Russian relations, he stressed to the Russian envoy the AL's desire to maintain the unity of the Russian territories and the need to embark on dialogue and a diplomatic political solution to settle problems in Chechnya and Dagestan, and that resorting to force would make the matter more complex.

The AL chief added that there are forces in Russia which try to obstruct Arab-Russian relations. He asserted the need of be aware of these attempts and reiterated the opposition of the Arab league to links between Islam and terrorism. He clarified saying, "Islam is innocent from terrorism."

Previous Stories:
  Russian official: Israel and USA have offered their experience in confronting Islamists in Chechnya.   (10/14/1999)
  Egypt supports Russia in the cause of Chechnya   (10/14/1999)
  Russian envoy visits Egypt today   (10/12/1999)

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