Russia outraged ABC broadcast of Chechen warlord Basayev interview

Russia says it is outraged by an interview with Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev broadcast on America's ABC television network.

The Russian foreign ministry summoned a senior US diplomat in Moscow to express its "strong indignation" over the show.

In the interview, the warlord, who had claimed the 2004 raid on a school in Beslan, admitted he was a terrorist but said the Russians were terrorists too.

Russia's most wanted man also warned of further Beslan-type attacks, reports BBC.

According to RIA Novosti, the Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed its strong objection to U.S. television network ABC's broadcast of an interview with accused Chechen terrorist Shamil Basayev. "This allows terrorists to attain their main goal - to use the media to frighten the international community," said a ministry officer. He pointed out that the interview was broadcast after the terrorist attacks in London and Egypt.

"It is shocking that the ABC News channel decided to ignore the Russian Embassy's objection to the interview with a well-known international terrorist," the Russian Embassy in the U.S. said in a statement.

The embassy sent their objection to ABC and to the management of the program "Nightline" a few hours before the interview, after it had been announced, but the interview, held in Chechnya by Russian journalist Andrei Babitsky at the end of June, was still broadcast.

The U.S. embassy declined to comment on the foreign ministry's summoning of Deputy Chief of Mission Daniel Russell. There is currently no U.S. ambassador in Moscow because former envoy Alexander Vershbow has only just left his post, informs Reuters.