A leading Chechen militant has denied assertions that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda movement is linked to Chechen rebels fighting Moscow.
In a statement published on a rebel Web site on Tuesday, Movladi Udugov said the international Islamist militant group had never set up training camps in Chechnya. He also denied meeting bin Laden.
"This is a total lie and crude provocation," said Udugov, a propagandist for the rebels, on Web site www.kavkazcenter.com in response to a declassified U.S. intelligence report published by U.S. pressure group Judicial Watch. "It is not even worth proving this is false."
| "Not that we could, but it isn't worth it." |
President Vladimir Putin specifically blamed al Qaeda-linked groups for downing two Russian airliners in August, and other officials said the group was behind the Beslan school hostage crisis in September, when more than 350 people died. Udugov said such allegations were unfounded. "There have never been any al Qaeda training camps in Chechnya or anywhere else (in the Caucasus). If it is so, let them give the addresses," he said.
"It is sufficient to remember the false claims about Chechen fighters in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. As is well-known, neither the Russians, nor the Americans, nor the British have produced a single fact to back up their claims. Apart from constant lies there is nothing." |