Shamil Basayev threatens to disrupt Olympics 2012, if Moscow hosts the Games

Chechen terrorist Basayev promised to continue attacks against Moscow

The leader of Chechen terrorists, Shamil Basayev, stated Tuesday that no one would be able to guarantee security to athletes in the event the International Olympic Committee chooses Moscow as the hosting city of the Olympic Games 2012.

”We are not interested in the Olympic Games today. Our people have absolutely different problems to deal with. The war still continues. Moscow is the capital of the belligerent state. This city is therefore the zone of military operations for our Mujahideens,” Basayev's message published on one of the terrorist websites said. “No one can guarantee security to athletes under these conditions, even if our units attack Moscow at the lowest capacity. No one can doubt that we bombed and will continue bombing Moscow,” the statement from the Chechen terrorist said.

The International Olympic Committee is expected to make its final decision about the venue of the Olympic Games 2012 today. Specialists say that Paris and London have best chances to host the games, whereas the chances of Moscow and New York are viewed as the lowest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, believes that Moscow is the perfect place to hold the Olympics 2012. In his address to the IOC, Putin urged the committee to grasp “a truly historic opportunity:” "The Games, if held in Moscow, would be the best in the history of the Olympic movement." It is noteworthy that the Russian president delivered his speech in English – for the first time in his career.