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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


September 2004 Russia Special Weapons News



  • Russia: Iran Under IAEA's Mandate VOA 29 Sep 2004 -- Moscow opposes referring Iran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council, saying the issue should be handled by the UN's nuclear agency.
  • Putin: "Iran does not need nuclear weapons" IRNA 25 Sep 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Friday that he was "convinced that Iran does not need nuclear weapons.
  • Putin Urges Iran To Meet IAEA Demands RFE/RL 24 Sep 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin today urged Iran to meet the demands of the UN nuclear watchdog and stop uranium enrichment activities. s federal agency for nuclear energy said here on Tuesday.
  • Chechen Leader Says Basaev Will Be Tried After War RFE/RL 24 Sep 2004 -- Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov says once the war is over in Russia's breakaway republic, radical field commander Shamil Basaev will be put on trial for the massive hostage taking in Beslan.
  • RUSSIA / KOREA VOA 21 Sep 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South Korean counterpart President Roh Moo Hyun have reiterated calls for curbing North Korea's nuclear weapons drive and continuing the six-nation talks aimed at defusing the Korean nuclear crisis.
  • Putin Accuses West Of Double Standards On Terrorists RFE/RL 18 Sep 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin today accused the West of "double standards" in its attitude toward terrorism, saying that indulging terrorists amounts to complicity in terror.
  • RUSSIA / PUTIN VOA 17 Sep 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning of preemptive strikes on terrorists. His announcement came shortly after prominent Chechen warlord, Shamil Basayev, claimed responsibility for the bloody school siege in Beslan two weeks ago. More than 320 hostages were killed in the siege.
  • Basaev Claims Beslan Attacks RFE/RL 17 Sep 2004 -- Radical Chechen field commander Shamil Basaev is reported to have claimed responsibility for the school hostage siege in the southern Russian town of Beslan that left at least 320 people dead, most of them children.
  • US / RUSSIA / TERROR VOA 14 Sep 2004 -- The United States expressed concern Tuesday about steps by Russian President Vladimir Putin to strengthen Kremlin power following recent terrorist attacks, including the school siege in North Ossetia.
  • Russia: Observers Comment On Arab Coverage Of Beslan Tragedy RFE/RL 14 Sep 2004 -- Observers say they detect differences in the way the Arab media has covered the Russian school siege from previous terrorist attacks. The siege in Beslan in early September killed some 330 people. Considerable attention appears to have been focused on the victims -- many of whom were children -- rather than simply the terrorists and their causes.
  • BRITAIN / CHECHNYA VOA 14 Sep 2004 -- A senior Chechen envoy is calling for the international community to pressure Russia into negotiations with Chechnya, saying more tragedies like the Beslan school siege could result if the Caucasus region continues to radicalize. Akhmed Zakayev spoke at a news conference in London, where he lives in exile.
  • Secret Mission to Recover Highly Enriched Uranium in Uzbekistan Successful US Dept. of Energy 13 Sep 2004 -- Eleven kilograms of enriched uranium fuel, including highly enriched uranium (HEU) that could be used for nuclear weapons, were safely returned to Russia from Uzbekistan in a secret mission conducted by the United States, Uzbekistan, and Russia, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced today. The mission was completed September 9, 2004.
  • CONGRESS / RUSSIA / TERRORISM VOA 13 Sep 2004 -- The U.S. Congress has been paying tribute to the hundreds of people killed in the terrorist takeover of a school in southern Russia, as well as other recent incidents in that country. The House of Representatives (Monday) approved a resolution condemning the attacks
  • Russia: Putin Seeking Government Changes To Strengthen Fight Against Terror RFE/RL 13 Sep 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin today ordered sweeping changes to Russia's political system in the name of combating terrorism. The changes come in the wake of the Beslan school siege, but they immediately drew accusations that Putin is exploiting the tragedy to boost his personal power. Among the suggested changes are a new regional ministry and new election laws that, among other things, would call for the appointment -- rather than the election -- of regional governors.
  • RUSSIA/POLITICS VOA 13 Sep 2004 -- In response to a series of deadly terror attacks in Russia in recent weeks, President Vladimir Putin has announced a number of proposed changes to Russia's political system. The initiatives, aimed at improving security, will also give a massive boost to the Kremlin's powers.
  • BUSH - RUSSIA TERROR VOA 12 Sep 2004 -- On the weekend America remembered the victims of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, President Bush also paid his respects to the hundreds of lives lost earlier this month at a school in southern Russia.
  • RUSSIA / PROBE VOA 11 Sep 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin reversed an earlier stand and has agreed to allow the upper house of Parliament to investigate the recent hostage-taking attack on a school in southern Russia. Close to 340 hostages died in the siege, almost half of them school-children.
  • BESLAN TRAGEDY: 'RUSSIA'S 9/11' US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 10 Sep 2004
  • U.S. Helsinki Commission Condemns Massacre in Beslan, Russia Washington File 09 Sep 2004 -- Members of the U.S. Helsinki Commission have added their voices to those throughout the world that have condemned the terrorist massacre at the school in Beslan in the North Ossetia region of the Russian Federation.
  • Russia: Moscow Joins Countries Advocating Preemptive Stance On Terror RFE/RL 09 Sep 2004 -- The head of Russia's General Staff announced yesterday that Moscow is willing to strike against "terrorist bases" anywhere in the world. The comments come after the bloody school siege in southern Russia last week that left more than 300 civilians dead.
  • Russia: Recounting The Beslan Hostage Siege -- A Chronology RFE/RL 09 Sep 2004 -- It has been nearly a week since the end of the hostage crisis in North Ossetia on 3 September. With each passing day, a few new details emerge about what exactly went on in Beslan. But many fundamental questions remain unanswered.
  • Russian General Claims Right To Preemptive Strikes RFE/RL 08 Sep 2004 -- Comments by a Russian military official suggesting that Moscow has a right to launch preemptive strikes against terrorist threats anywhere in the world met with cautious responses today.
  • Russia: U.S. Urges Chechen Settlement, Sympathizes In School Siege RFE/RL 08 Sep 2004 -- In the wake of the Beslan hostage tragedy, President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will increase efforts to extradite people with suspected ties to terrorism. At the top of the Foreign Ministry's extradition wish list is Ilyas Akhmadov, a former official in the separatist Chechen government of Aslan Maskhadov, who has been granted asylum in the United States. Russia has criticized the U.S. stance on Akhmadov and other Chechen separatists. But U.S. officials this week made efforts to demonstrate their solidarity with Russia on the issue of Beslan, pledging aid to the victims and seeking to downplay its ties with Chechen officials.
  • RUSSIA / RESPONSE VOA 08 Sep 2004 -- Russia's Federal Security Service has offered a 10-million dollar reward for information leading authorities to the two most prominent Chechen rebel leaders. Russia also says it may launch pre-emptive strikes on bases used for training militants.
  • US / RUSSIA / CHECHNYA VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- The United States Tuesday reaffirmed its "absolute solidarity" with Russia in its fight against terrorism, but also reiterated its support for a political solution to the Chechnya conflict. The comments followed charges by Russian President Vladimir Putin that U.S. meetings with Chechen separatists undermine Russia's efforts against terror.
  • BRITAIN/RUSSIA TERROR VOA 07 Sep 2004 -- Prime Minister Tony Blair has publicly expressed his sympathy for those who have lost loved ones in the Beslan school siege, in Russia. In his monthly news conference, Mr. Blair also underlined that Britain stands in solidarity with Russia in the fight against terrorism.
  • Russia: Putin Rejects Open Inquiry Into Beslan Tragedy As Critical Voices Mount RFE/RL 07 Sep 2004 -- Vladimir Putin, in an interview yesterday with foreign journalists, said he has refused to order a public inquiry into the Beslan hostage-taking crisis and its deadly aftermath. The Russian president said a private investigation will suffice. But a growing number of voices in Russia are criticizing the authorities' actions during the Beslan crisis.
  • Russia: On Beslan, Putin Looks Beyond Chechnya, Sees International Terror RFE/RL 07 Sep 2004 -- Russia has been fighting a brutal war in Chechnya the past five years. Over the same period, Chechen militants have carried out multiple acts of terrorism on Russian soil. Yet to hear Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent days, the Russia-Chechnya conflict seemingly had little to do with the school hostage crisis in Beslan. In spite of claims by the hostage takers they were acting for an independent Chechnya, Putin -- instead -- pinned the blame on "international terrorists."
  • Russia: Troubling Questions Remain About Bloody Beslan Siege RFE/RL 06 Sep 2004 -- Russia has begun two days of mourning for the hundreds of victims of the North Ossetia school massacre. But three days after the siege was broken, many fundamental questions remain about the tragedy and the authorities' handling of the incident. The exact number of victims, the number of hostage takers, and many other details have still not been revealed.
  • ISRAEL / RUSSIA VOA 06 Sep 2004 -- Israel has offered to share its experience in combating militant groups with Russia as both sides call for closer cooperation in fighting terrorism. The move follows the killing of more than 350 people, about half of them children, during a terrorist siege of a school in southern Russia.
  • RUSSIA / HOSTAGES VOA 06 Sep 2004 -- Russia is observing two days of mourning for the 350 victims of last week's terrorist school massacre. More funerals are being held in the town of Beslan as medical aid shipments arrive from the United States and other countries
  • RUSSIA / AFTERMATH UPDATE VOA 05 Sep 2004 -- Grieving relatives in the town of Beslan in southern Russia continue to search for the remains of those who died Friday when Russian troops stormed the school where more than one-thousand people were held hostage by terrorists. At least 350 people, half of them children, died in Russia's deadliest act of terror. President Vladimir Putin says security will be tightened in the wake of the massacre.
  • RUSSIA / AFTERMATH VOA 04 Sep 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin visited survivors of the school siege in southern Russia Saturday as people of the region mourned the death of more than 300 people. At least 600 people were injured during Friday's battle as Russian special forces took control of a school held for over two days by heavily-armed militants
  • As Death Toll Tops 300, Russian President Signals Tough Stance RFE/RL 04 Sep 2004 -- Rescue workers today pulled more bodies from the ruins of the school in Beslan, North Ossetia, where the two-day hostage taking ended in bloody chaos yesterday, with the death toll climbing above 300.
  • US / RUSSIA TERRORISM VOA 03 Sep 2004 -- The United States is condemning the school takeover in Russia as a "particularly barbaric" act of terrorism. It says the perpetrators bear all the blame for the casualties.
  • Russia: Authorities Have Poor Record On Hostage Crises RFE/RL 03 Sep 2004 -- Russia has encountered several hostage crises before Beslan. In most instances, it has dealt poorly with them. In the 1995 Budyonnovsk case, the militants escaped. In the 2002 Moscow theater siege, scores of innocent hostages died when Russian special forces stormed the building.
  • RUSSIA / HOSTAGES VOA 03 Sep 2004 -- The siege at the school in southern Russia took a dramatic turn Friday when heavy gunfire from militants inside led Russian troops to storm the building. Hundreds of hostages, including many children, managed to flee. Others have died and some are still being held.
  • North Ossetia School Siege Ends in Hail of Gunfire, Roar of Explosions VOA News 03 Sep 2004 -- Reports from southern Russia say dozens of people have been killed in the school hostage crisis in the town of Beslan.
  • Russian Troops Break Seige At School RFE/RL 03 Sep 2004 -- Sporadic explosions followed by sustained gunfire have broken out around a school in Beslan, in Russia's republic of North Ossetia, where militants have been holding hundreds of hostages. Groups of children are being evacuated from the school building, and it appears Russian soldiers have entered the school.
  • Shooting, Explosions Continue Around North Ossetian School RFE/RL 03 Sep 2004 -- Shooting and explosions continue around the school in the Russian republic of North Ossetia that has been the scene of a three-day hostage crisis.
  • Chaos At Scene Of Russian Hostage Drama RFE/RL 03 Sep 2004 -- Chaos has engulfed the scene of a hostage drama at a school in Russia's republic of North Ossetia.
  • U.S. / RUSSIA / TERRORISM VOA 02 Sep 2004 -- The United States Thursday reiterated its "absolutely firm" condemnation of the hostage-taking in Russia's North Ossetia region despite its past support for a political solution to the Chechnya conflict. Secretary of State Colin Powell has discussed the hostage crisis by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
  • RUSSIA / SCHOOL SIEGE UPDATE VOA 02 Sep 2004 -- Armed militants holding hundreds of people hostage in southern Russia have freed around 30 women and children. The release comes as officials seek to hold more talks with the armed group holding the hostages inside the school.
  • Russia: Hostage Drama In North Ossetia Enters Second Day; At Least 12 Civilians Dead RFE/RL 02 Sep 2004 -- There are reports of two large explosions at a school in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia that is the scene of an unfolding hostage drama. Large plumes of black smoke could be seen rising above the school this afternoon, where a group of armed men are holding some 325 hostages, including around 100 children. The cause of the blasts is not immediately clear. The attackers stormed the school in the town of Beslan early yesterday on the first day of classes in the new school year. While casualty figures vary, the North Ossetian interior minister said 12 civilians have been killed. He also said 15 students have so far managed to escape. And reports say 26 women and children, including infants, were freed by the gunmen this afternoon.
  • RUSSIA / SCHOOL SIEGE VOA 02 Sep 2004 -- Russian officials say there has been no progress in talks with militants holding over 300 people hostage inside a school in the region of North Ossetia near war-torn Chechnya. President Vladimir Putin has postponed a trip to Turkey to deal with the crisis.
  • Hostage Crisis In Russia Enters Second Day RFE/RL 02 Sep 2004 -- A group of armed men are holding for a second day today some 350 hostages, including children at a school in Russia's southern republic of North Ossetia.
  • JAPAN/RUSSIA/ISLANDS VOA 02 Sep 2004 -- In a move that Moscow has criticized, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has sailed close to Russian-held islands that Japan claims as its own.
  • U.S. Strongly Condemns Terrorist Attacks in Russia Washington File 01 Sep 2004 -- The White House issued a statement August 31 condemning in the "strongest terms" the recent terrorist attacks in the Russian Federation.
  • CHECHNYA: MOSCOW SHOULD 'SERIOUSLY EXPLORE' DIALOGUE US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 01 Sep 2004
  • At Least Two Dead In North Ossetian School Standoff RFE/RL 01 Sep 2004 -- Russian authorities faced more Caucasus-related violence today, as a group of armed attackers stormed a school in the southern republic of North Ossetia, taking hundreds of children and adults hostage. At least two people have been killed in the incident and 11 injured.
  • RUSSIA / SCHOOL ATTACK VOA 01 Sep 2004 -- More than a dozen heavily armed gunmen seized up to 200 people, including many children, in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia.
  • Armed Men Seize Hostages At School In Southern Russia RFE/RL 01 Sep 2004 -- A force of armed attackers today stormed and barricaded themselves in a school in the Russian republic of North Ossetia, taking between 120 and 150 people, including schoolchildren, as hostages.



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