Russian envoy calls for joint fight against terror

Russian envoy calls for joint fight against terror

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia and Russia, the latest victims of terrorist attacks,
must join hands with the international community to fight
terrorism, a Russian diplomat said on Monday in Jakarta.

"The attack in Jakarta is another confirmation of the great
necessity to join efforts of all countries in combating
terrorism. This menace must be confronted by the united efforts
of all nations," Kirill Barsky, the Russian Federation's new
Charge d'Affaires in Jakarta, told reporters.

Barsky, who assumed his post in July, said the two countries
could exchange intelligence on terrorist groups, which were
believed to have a global network.

"Just look at places they (terrorists) choose to attack. They
usually attack countries which are on the frontline in the war on
terror," he said.

Last week's explosion outside the Australian Embassy in
Jakarta that killed nine and injured over 180 came just six days
after a fatal hostage-taking at a school in Beslan, Russia, that
left 339 people dead, including some 150 schoolchildren.

The two attacks, said Barsky, had similarities, and were aimed
at destabilizing nations where elections were just concluded or
were to be held soon.

Beslan's tragedy came only three days after Alu Alkhanov won
the presidency of Chechnya on Aug. 29, while the bomb in Jakarta
came only two weeks before the Sept. 20 election runoff.

Barsky added the attack was launched just outside the embassy
of Australia, which will also hold its national election on Oct.
9.

The international community, including the Russian government,
expressed their condolences and sympathies to the victims of the
Jakarta blast and condemned the attack.

Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush paid tribute on
Sunday to the young victims of the school siege in Russia,
denouncing the cruelty of the hostage-takers as "beyond
comprehension" and promising to work in concert with Russia to
combat terrorism, Reuters reported from Washington.

With his wife at his side, Bush made a surprise visit to the
Russian Embassy in Washington to sign a "book of condolences" for
the hundreds of victims.

He expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and
declared: "The United States stands side by side with Russia as
we fight off terrorism ... We stand shoulder to shoulder."

"Many in America and, I know, many in Russia, simply cannot
conceive the hearts of a person that would mow down innocent
children," Bush said.