Russian Security Council Vice-secretary Speaks About Top Anti-terror Priorities

To eliminate the deepest-rooted causes of terror and stop terrorist financing channels are top priorities on the anti-terror cause, Oleg Chernov, Vice-Secretary of Russia's Security Council, said to a news briefing for an upcoming session of the Collective Security Treaty countries' Security Council secretarial committee. Sinister figures on a par with Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar will reappear as long as the causes of terrorism are not uprooted and, even more important, while terror financing is going on. The two problems are closely interconnected. Mr. Chernov pointed out in that context Saudi Arabia, which hosts US bases and airports, and so stays intact despite its many foundations which keep up bin Laden's and other terror organisations. Oleg Chernov called for unified attitudes to terrorism irrespective of political biases. To put an end to double standards and unify legal norms are prime necessities to guarantee international success on the anti-terror crusade, he said. As he was replying to journalists on Afghan developments, Mr. Chernov pointed out the efficiency of Russian efforts in support of the current anti-terror operation. The whole world is interested in Afghan stability, so he does not think any of the involved countries and forces will attempt to slice Afghanistan into spheres of influence. He does not share the concern of certain Western-based media outlets about a tentative re-enaction of the "spurt to Pristina" now that the Russian Foreign and Defence ministries and Ministry for Emergency and Calamity Relief have dispatched their representatives to Afghanistan. Oleg Chernov called to give up outdated stances which preserve the danger of Afghanistan dismembered now that presidents have agreed to preserve its territorial integrity. He does not think Osama bin Laden may find refuge in Chechnya, where he will have no chance for safety. The life of the world's most notorious terrorist largely depends on his associates' loyalty and on the Taliban, with their numerous fortified mountain bases. He will have none of that in Chechnya, where federals are preparing new large-scale action against militants' chieftains.