Terrorist attacks on U.S.: the international reaction (10/21/01)

Terrorist attacks on U.S.: the international reaction

Special from RFE/RL Newsline

Ukraine strengthens eastern border

KYIV - Kyiv has beefed up security at the Ukrainian-Russian border in easternmost Luhansk Oblast in anticipation of an influx of illegal migrants from Afghanistan and neighboring countries, Interfax reported on October 10. Ukraine's border guards are to establish border checkpoints every 25 to 30 kilometers along the frontier in that region. The same day, Foreign Minister Anatoliy Zlenko said he does not rule out the possibility of terrorists infiltrating Ukraine and committing terrorist acts, UNIAN reported. According to Zlenko, the anti-terrorist action of the United States and its allies in Afghanistan may increase the number of refugees and illegal migrants in Ukraine as well as breed anti-American sentiments among Ukraine's Muslims and anti-Islamic sentiments among ethnic Ukrainians.

... extends no-fly zone over Chornobyl

KYIV - Vitalii Tolstonohov, the general director of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, said on October 10 that in the event that any planes appear in the sky above the Chornobyl area without warning it will be regarded as a terrorist act, New Channel television reported. He added that closed airspace has now been extended far beyond the 30-kilometer zone around the Chornobyl plant. "Flights of any aircraft over the Chornobyl plant zone are prohibited, and I think that the air-defense forces will have sufficient time to see to it that this plane is downed," Mr. Tolstonohov said.

U.S. military specialists in Tajikistan

DUSHANBE - A group of six U.S. officers arrived in Dushanbe on October 12 to discuss with Tajik officials the possible use of Tajikistan's airspace and military facilities by the United States within the framework of the anti-terrorist strikes against Afghanistan, Russian agencies reported.

Uzbekistan, U.S. unveil agreement

TASHKENT - Under an agreement signed on October 7, the governments of Uzbekistan and the United States agreed on the nature of the threat posed by international terrorism and pledged to raise bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level to meet that threat and ensure long-term regional stability, according to a joint statement by the two governments made public on October 12, the Associated Press and Russian agencies reported. That statement also reaffirms Uzbekistan's readiness to make one of its air bases available for use in humanitarian or search-and-rescue operations during the U.S.-led anti-terrorist strikes against Afghanistan. On October 15 ITAR-TASS reported that U.S. military specialists are already installing equipment at the Khanabad air base, which is some 145 kilometers from the Uzbek-Afghan border.

Diplomat warns against overreaching

ISLAMABAD - Eduard Shevchenko, the Russian ambassador to Pakistan, told Reuters on October 10 that the U.S. should be careful not to get involved in the "quicksand" that is Afghanistan lest it find it "difficult to get out." He added that "the Americans have good relations in Central Asian states, but they should understand that it is a Russian sphere of influence. Our presence there is known and well- recognized."

U.S. envoy thanks Hungary for support

BUDAPEST - U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Nancy Goodman Brinker told the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on October 10 that U.S. military aircraft and cargo planes bearing humanitarian aid shipments in recent days have used Hungarian airspace, as authorized by Parliament. In her first public statement in Hungary, Ambassador Brinker expressed thanks for the Parliament's speedy decision-making and Hungary's close cooperation in combating terrorism.

NATO accepts Czech offer of TU-154

PRAGUE - Foreign Minister Jan Kavan on October 11 told journalists that NATO has accepted a Czech offer of a TU-154 plane for use in the current operations against international terrorism, CTK reported. Mr. Kavan said that "for the time being" the plane will be used for 30 days, starting at a date between October 15 and December 13. "Theoretically," he said, "this means that our plane could already be used next week." He said the TU-154 will be used in connection with the transportation of five AWACS aircraft and their ground components and "will be used only in Europe."

Turkmenistan mum on military strikes

ASHGABAT - RFE/RL's bureau in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, reported on October 8 that Turkmen state media failed to broadcast any mention of the previous day's international strikes against Afghanistan. Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov had said on October 4 that, in line with Turkmenistan's proclaimed neutral status, the country will not facilitate the transportation of troops and weaponry within the framework of strikes on terrorist bases in Afghanistan, or place its military bases at the disposal of any other state, Interfax reported. However, Turkmenistan is not hindering the transportation of international humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan places base at U.S. disposal

TASHKENT - Following talks in Tashkent on October 5 with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Uzbek President Islam Karimov announced that Uzbekistan will allow the United States the use of one of its military airfields from which to conduct search-and-rescue missions and air shipments of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. He said the two countries will also exchange intelligence information, but he stressed that "we are against using the territory of Uzbekistan for ground operations and we are against carrying out any bombing of Afghanistan from our territory," RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reported. Mr. Karimov also said that Uzbek forces will not participate in any strikes against Afghanistan, Interfax reported.

Expert: terrorist attacks a "diversion"

MOSCOW - Gennadii Zakharov, the former chief of the special assignments center of the presidential security service, told Interfax on October 2 that "the tragedy in the U.S. is not a terrorist act but a typical diversion, because no demands were advanced and no one took responsibility for it." He suggested at a Moscow press conference that "the goal of the organizers of this action [is] to draw the entire world into a war new in form and content at the center of which of course stands economics, the struggle for the construction of a new world order."

Moscow offers help with anthrax vaccine

MOSCOW - Health Minister Yurii Shevchenko said on October 15 that his agency is ready to provide the United States with its vaccines against anthrax should that prove necessary, RIA-Novosti reported. He added that Russia is also prepared to contribute its expertise to American doctors combating such infections. Also on October 15, officials across Russia said they are taking additional measures to be ready to respond to any use of biological weapons against Russia, Russian agencies reported.

Rice clarifies policy in Central Asia

MOSCOW - In an interview published in Izvestiya on October 13, U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said American involvement in Central Asia is not directed against Russia, and that the U.S. has "no plans to squeeze Russia out" of that region. She said that Russia has been "a generous partner and good ally" in the fight against terrorism. She indicated that Washington does not exclude possible strikes against Iraq. She added that the U.S. opposes terrorism wherever it is found, including in Chechnya, although she stressed that there are legitimate political issues involved in Chechnya as well.

U.S. might need Lithuania's airspace

VILNIUS - The deputy commander for U.S. forces in Europe, Gen. Carlton Fulford, began a tour of the Baltic states in Vilnius on October 15 with a meeting with President Valdas Adamkus, the ELTA and BNS news agencies reported. Their talks focused primarily on Lithuania's implementation of the program for NATO accession and its readiness to assume membership commitments. Gen. Fulford called Lithuania's permission for the United States to use its airspace and airports "a very important and significant contribution" to the anti-terrorist campaign, as it would make it easier to proceed from the planning stages to the execution of military actions. In later talks with Defense Minister Linas Linkevicius, Gen. Fulford praised both Lithuania's decision to increase security around the nuclear power plant at Ignalina and its decision to have a smaller, but better trained and equipped army.

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