| Russia convened the UN Security Council Last night a special meeting of the UN Security Council was supposed to take place in New York. Moscow asked the Security Council to express its attitude towards a series of terrorist attacks on Russian territory. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Never before, even in connection with such terrorist attacks as the hostage-taking at the Dubrovka Theater Center in 2002, the militant attack on Dagestan in 1999 or Ingushetia this year, has the Russian leadership required the support of the world community, expressed in Security Council resolutions UN.
Does this mean that today Russia finds itself in the same nightmare into which America was plunged by the Boeings that dived onto the Twin Towers and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001? Then, by resolutions of the UN Security Council, which was urgently convened twice, on September 12 and 28, 2001, it was actually recognized that America was subjected to external aggression and has “an inalienable right to individual or collective self-defense.” Is such a “right” necessary in Moscow today? It seems not. Russian requests look more modest. Nevertheless, they play a fairly fundamental role for Russia.
As Sergei Lavrov stated, “it is obvious that the roots of these (terrorist - Ed. ) actions are international in nature.” The minister explained that the “stabilization process” in Chechnya “is not to the liking of those who want to disrupt the establishment of peace and stability there.”
It is important for the Russian leadership that its Chechen policy ceases to be the subject of criticism by the international community. In principle, Russia has previously sought recognition by Western countries that the activity of militants and terrorists in the North Caucasus is “fed” from the outside by various regimes and extremist groups that threaten the West itself. And the West at times actually recognized the connection between the activities of Chechen militants and, conditionally, Bin Laden - however, reluctantly, as if doing Russia a favor. A series of high-profile and painful terrorist attacks in recent days provides, as Moscow apparently believes, a reason to achieve support for its fight against terrorists at the “highest”, legally formalized international level. Even if earlier the Russian security forces, intending to “wash out” one of the militants in the toilet, did not ask permission from the UN.
YOUR OPINION Arkady DUBNOV |
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