Asia Times: Talks fail to narrow gap on Chechnya, arms control



	February 3, 2000	atimes.com

Central Asia/Russia

Talks fail to narrow gap on Chechnya, arms control
By Sergei Blagov

MOSCOW - Several meetings between Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright here have apparently failed to narrow differences between both sides on key issues ranging from Russia's military actions in Chechnya to arms control.

However, it remains a matter of debate whether Russia will manage to repair its relations with the West damaged by the Chechen war - or drift towards new isolationism.

Ivanov and Albright met repeatedly in Moscow Monday and Tuesday but neither side appeared to have convinced the other to shift previously stated public positions. Albright repeated US accusations that Russian forces were targeting Chechen civilians indiscriminately in a conflict that could have no military solution, while Ivanov echoed Moscow's explanation that its tough military action was an offensive against international terrorism.

Relations between Russia and the United States have been affected by disagreements over Nato's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia and then over Russia's military offensive in Chechnya. According to a recent poll, 33 percent of Russians believe that relations with the United States over the past year took a turn for the worse.

On the eve Albright's visit, the Kremlin cautiously praised US President Bill Clinton's promised help to Russia with its reform programs, mentioned in his State of the Union address. However, Russia lashed out at Clinton's characterization of the war in Chechnya as ''cruel''. And Gennady Zyuganov, head of Russia's Communist Party described Albright's critical statements on Chechnya as ''blackmail''. Before the visit, Russian communist, Cossak and Orthodox Christian activists also picketed the US embassy in Moscow. One banner read: ''Death to US Fascism''. The protestors charged that Albright was ''trying to save Chechen bandits''.

Many Western and Muslim leaders have accused Russia of using indiscriminate force in Chechnya, causing high civilian casualties and forcing some 200,000 refugees to flee. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan - who visited Moscow January 28 and met Acting President Vladimir Putin - also called for end to the war in Chechnya.

Russia insists it is targeting only terrorists and rules out talks with Chechen militants.

However, in an apparent attempt to mend rifts with Muslim nations over Chechnya, Russia hosted the first multilateral Middle East talks in more than three years Tuesday to discuss cross-border issues. Ivanov and Albright jointly chaired the talks - sponsored by Russia and the United States - which brought together representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the Palestinian Authority and Israel, as well as Canada, the European Union, Japan, China, Switzerland and Norway. Syria and Lebanon boycotted the meetings. Addressing the conference, Putin called for boosting Middle East settlement.

However, the Kremlin acting boss - who took over from Boris Yeltsin on December 31 and is a favorite to win the presidential election on March 26 - warned against dismantling a major arms control treaty.

President Bill Clinton's administration wants changes in the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. Russia opposes treaty modifications, arguing they would destroy all arms-control efforts of the last three decades. Ivanov and Albright made no concrete progress on the issue of amending the ABM. The Russian minister said the amendments would be a very serious mistake.

With the United States contemplating building a missile defense system, the Russian military is concerned and has hinted they could have a cheaper, affordable response. In the face of endless financial woes, it remains to be seen whether Russia could afford even a cheaper response.

Furthermore, since the end of the Cold War, the United States has worked hard to protect nuclear materials in Russia. Washington has long urged Moscow to prevent nuclear materials and know-how from falling into the hands of Iran, or other aspiring nuclear powers. However, Russia sounds undeterred. Leonid Melamed, head of Rosenergoatom - a state-owned company that runs the Russia's nuclear power stations - told IPS that Russia will go ahead with its nuclear plant projects in Iran, as well as India and China.

Despite the failure of Russia and the United States to reconcile all their differences during the Albright visit, both sides pledged not to let the disputes sour relations. It is understood that after the elections a priority for Putin, the likely new president, will be to repair Moscow's relations with the West.

(Inter Press Service)