MOSCOW, September 12th, 2002 (RIA Novosti) -- President Vladimir Putin has sent letters to the UN Secretary General and the leaders of the permanent Security Council member countries and OSCE countries, in which he put forth Russia's attitude to the situation on the Russia-Georgia border. We offer you the full text of those letters provided by the Kremlin press service.
"I am addressing you in connection with the situation developing on the Russia-Georgia border. Faced with the aggression of international terrorism that has entrenched itself in Chechnya, Russia's taken most resolute steps to liquidate this dangerous seat. We have set ourselves the task of liquidating the terrorist infrastructure which was created in Chechnya with the assistance of its criminal regime and is the main barrier to the political settlement in that region of Russia.
"The military aspect of this task has been fulfilled. This allowed us to start reducing the federal group of forces in Chechnya. Simultaneously, we have launched the creation of bodies of power in that constituent member of the Russian Federation, including local law-enforcement agencies with an entirely Chechen staff. The results speak for themselves: life in Chechnya is gradually becoming peaceful again, with the economy reviving, schools opening and housing being built. Active work is underway to elaborate a new constitution of the Chechen Republic and prepare for elections to the republican and local bodies of power.
"All of these actions are an inalienable part of the process of political settlement in the region. This is the firm policy of the Russian leadership. We are open to close cooperation with international organisations, above all the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and various non-governmental structures on this issue.
"But the problem is not limited to the territory of Chechnya. The successful progress of the counter-terror operation has forced the remaining bandits to flee to Georgia, where the Georgian authorities turn a blind eye to the fact that they are living a free and comfortable life there, and continue to receive military, financial and other assistance from abroad.
"Seeking to preclude the spillover of bandits into Georgia, we offered Tbilisi back in 1999, at the very beginning of the counter-terror operation, to establish close collaboration between the secret and border services of our countries in order to raise an insurmountable barrier to the bandits on the Georgia-Russia border.
"We point to the inadmissibility of the Georgian leadership's tactic of pandering at terrorism and, despite the absence of a constructive reaction on the part of Tbilisi, continue to persistently call on Georgia to take exhaustive measures in order to cut short the continuing armed incursions into Russia by groups of non-Georgian bandits from the territory of Georgia and express readiness to provide requisite assistance.
"President Eduard Shevardnadze, who has recently rejected the presence of terrorists in Georgia, was forced on the strength of facts to admit their presence there. However, no practical action has been taken to blockade, disarm and surrender them to the Russian side. The widely popularised 'anti-criminal' operation of the Georgian power departments in the Pankisi Gorge did not bring practical results and could not bring any considering how it was prepared. Chechen bandits and international terrorists, who knew about the forthcoming operation, simply changed their deployment sites.
"These questions have again been raised in the letter sent to Eduard Shevardnadze on September 3 this year. As before, there was no constructive reaction.
"Proceeding from the above, we are talking about glaring violation by Tbilisi of counter-terrorist Resolution 1373 of the UN Security Council, which is obligatory for all states. In this situation we must ensure that Georgia fully complies with its obligations to the international community in this sphere.
"In this connection Russia may be forced to use the inalienable right to individual or collective defence in accordance with the UN Charter, stipulated in Resolution 1368 of the UN Security Council adopted in the aftermath of the barbarous terrorist acts in the USA in September last year. I want to stress that we are not considering actions that would undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country in question or a change of its political regime.
"The point at issue that unless the Georgian leadership takes practical action to liquidate terrorists and if bandit raids continue to originate in its territory, Russia, while acting in strict compliance with the international law, shall take adequate measures to resist the terrorist threat.
"I hope that you will understand our position and support the decisions which Russia would make in the interests of combating international terrorism, protecting the life of peaceful civilians and ensuring stability and security in the Caucasian region."
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