Russian Defence Minister: All States Must Adopt United Approaches to Fight Terrorism

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov believes that all states must adopt the same approach to terrorists and terrorism - "either they are extradited, either they are tried where they are caught if they cannot be extradited, or eliminated." While visiting an international conference on security and defence issues, Ivanov said, "the lack of a clear definition of terrorism allows terrorists to manoeuvre and avoid the consequences." "If we cannot agree on united approaches to the problem of terrorism, then inevitably misunderstanding between each other will arise," the minister said.

Meanwhile, according to him, an Indian project on the conclusion of a comprehensive convention on combating terrorism, which includes a clear definition of the term, has been stuck in the UN for several years.

Ivanov indicated that despite the slight lack of understanding, progress had been made in the development of anti-terrorist interaction.

"The first real fruits of our co-operation have appeared over the past year," Ivanov said, pointing to Russia's interaction on a multilateral and bilateral basis with such organisations as the UN, Nato, the EU, the CIS and the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation.

Sergei Ivanov reported that during an informal ministerial meeting within the framework of the Russia-Nato Council, he and his colleagues had agreed to discuss the issue of territories that are formally under the judicial control of one state, but in reality, whether voluntarily or not, are breeding grounds for terrorism.

"Chechnya, incidentally, was one of such places up until recently," Ivanov reminded those present.

According to him, the fight against international terrorism "will neither be easy, nor quick." Therefore, he believes "we must be ready to fight new challenges." Sergei Ivanov called on everyone "to think about the importance of preserving the unity of the anti-terrorist coalition and enhancing the resource of the developed interaction." "Otherwise, our joint actions will not be very effective," he said.

According to him, much more has to be done in the future to defeat international terrorism, and the only way of achieving this aim is through acting together.

"Russia is making its significant contribution to the fight against international terrorism and is prepared for the broadest co-operation with other countries in this sphere," the Russian defence minister stressed.