"No to War! No to Terror!" says the banner of an anti-terrorism rally.
Photo: Sergei
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Russia Speaks Its Mind, Ivanov Says
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov spoke at the 43th Munich Security Conference on Sunday, dwelling on global security issues and Russia’s part in settling them.
“We just speak our minds,” the defense minister told the audience at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, stressing that Russia would not want to “impose its opinion on others”.
Sergey Ivanov also urged to give up “double standards” in assessing global security challenges. “If terrorists are hiding on the territory of a country, we must use clearly defined procedures – either extradition or prosecution,” Mr. Ivanov underscored.
Continuing the terror issue, the Russian defense chief reported certain success in battling domestic terrorism in Chechnya. “The problem has been solved, though it took us five years,” he said. “We have learnt our lessons well, and held elections in Chechnya.” Mr. Ivanov was quick to add that a number of countries are bankrolling Chechen terrorism: “Hundreds of billion dollars has been transferred to Chechnya from other countries.”
The defense minister pledged Russia’s adherence to cooperate with NATO. But he admitted that “after two years of euphoria when Russia and NATO were staging joint military exercises and exchanging intelligence data”, the two parties “do not see many prospects in this area now.” Mr. Ivanov finished his speech calling for drafting a “a concept as a basis” for further encouragement of the Russia-NATO cooperation.
www.kommersant.com
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