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Russia embraces U.S.-led effort
09/24/2001
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV MOSCOW — The Russian president on Monday opened his airspace to humanitarian
flights by the anti-terrorist coalition led by the United States and said
Central Asia governments had not ruled out the use of their air bases for
Washington-led military action against Afghanistan. In a speech on national television, Vladimir Putin also said Russia would
intensify its support of Afghan opposition forces fighting the Taliban in the
northeast of that country and was prepared to supply them with weapons and
military equipment, ``We have coordinated this position with our allies among the Central Asian
states. They share this position and do not rule out providing the use of their
airfields,'' Putin said. The address from the Kremlin marked Putin's most specific outline of steps
his country plans to take to help the United States after the terrorist attacks
on New York and Washington. The speech came two days after Putin spent an hour
on the phone with President Bush. Putin's speech signals the Kremlin's readiness to openly help the United
States in its drive to capture Osama bin Laden, the Saudi born Islamic
fundamentalist that Washington holds responsible for the attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11. Use of air bases in Central Asia —
considered under Moscow's sphere of influence — are believed key to the effort
against bin Laden and terrorist camps he operates in neighboring Afghanistan.
``We are broadening cooperation with the internationally recognized
government of Afghanistan headed by Mr. Rabbani and will render additional aid
to its armed forces in the form of the supply of weapons and military
equipment,'' Putin said. Putin was referring to the government-in-exile of President Burhanuddin
Rabbani, who was ousted by the Taliban. The Russians already have been helping
the Afghan opposition, which controls about 5 percent of the territory of
Afghanistan, by allowing helicopters to fly in and out of Tajikistan, where the
Rabbani forces pick up supplies. Meanwhile Monday, Kazakstan's president said his nation was ready to offer
airspace and military bases for an anti-terrorist coalition. ``We've already given our general agreement that we'll provide all necessary
support. But there has been no concrete request yet,'' President Nursultan
Nazarbayev told a news conference in the Kazak capital Astana. Of the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia, Kazakstan is the
farthest from Afghanistan, the target of potential retaliatory strikes for the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Washington has expressed more
interest in using bases in Uzbekistan or Tajikistan, which border Afghanistan.
The Central Asian nations and Russia — which wields considerable influence in
the region — publicly had given conflicting signals about whether they will
provide military assistance to the United States. The Russian Interfax news agency, quoting unidentified sources, said three
U.S. Air Force transport planes had arrived in Uzbekistan this weekend carrying
about 200 U.S. troops and reconnaissance equipment. Russia's RTR television also
reported the arrival of U.S. forces in Uzbekistan. But Uzbek Defense Ministry spokesman Bakhtiar Shakirov denied Monday that any
U.S. planes had landed in Uzbekistan, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. At the same time, ITAR-Tass cited a witness saying he saw two large planes
which looked like U.S. C-130 Hercules transports landing at a military field
near Tashkent. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, refused to
comment on the reports. Secretary of State Colin Powell, asked in an interview
on ABC on Sunday whether troops had landed in Uzbekistan, said ``not to my
knowledge.'' There were also unconfirmed media reports that U.S. forces had landed at an
air base in Tajikistan. Officials would not immediately comment on the reports.
The northern alliance forces led by Rabbani, and now promised increased
Russian support, are made up of the same rebel fighters that battled Soviet
forces and finally defeated them in 1989. But Russia sees the Afghan opposition
as the best bet for defeating the Taliban and preventing the spread of Islamic
fundamentalism into Central Asia and Chechnya in the Caucuses region far to the
west. Putin also said a Pentagon delegation was due in Moscow late next week to
discuss possible military action against the Taliban, though he ruled out
Russian participation in such a campaign. The Russian leader did not indicate if Moscow would give direct military
assistance or troops to any U.S. operation. He did say, however, that Moscow
would be ready to help in search-and-rescue operations. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov later said Washington had already requested —
and been provided with — intelligence on international terrorist groups and
their bases. Since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Putin had
remained noncommittal in public about Russia's strategy on possible U.S. strikes
on Afghanistan, whose Taliban rulers refuse to hand over prime suspect Osama bin
Laden and his fighters to the United States. Russia's cooperation is crucial,
especially if an operation is staged from Central Asia. Putin has said that Russia is ready for wide cooperation with the United
States but other officials have indicated Moscow would not offer troops for any
U.S. military action — and would not welcome any unilateral decisions by the
United States. In his speech Monday, Putin also called for greater reliance on international
organizations such as the United Nations and its Security Council in determining
what steps to take against international terrorism. ``Other, deeper forms of cooperation between Russia and participants in the
anti-terrorist operation are possible. The depth and character of this
cooperation will directly depend on the general level and quality of our
relations with these countries and on mutual understanding in the sphere of
fighting international terrorism,'' Putin said.
Associated Press Writer
