SOCHI. Sept 1 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told Turkish journalists in Sochi that the international terrorists are trying to make use of the current normalization in Chechnya for their own purposes.
"The situation is getting back to normal (in Chechnya - Interfax). Elections were held there a few days ago and a new president has been elected. But the international terrorists are trying to make use of this situation for their own purposes," Putin told Turkish reporters in Sochi.
"You know that two civil airliners have been downed, and that an international terrorist organization, connected with Al Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for this terrorist attack. All this demonstrates again what we have discussed on many occasions: the separatists in the Caucasus, including in the Chechen Republic, are being guided by their own interests, not the interests of the Chechen people, and are connected with international terrorism," Putin said.
He said some of the Turkish public funds had maintained relations with the separatists in Chechnya and with terrorists. "But we know that Turkey itself is suffering from terrorism," the Russian president said.
"We very well remember the terrorist attacks, recent bombings, in Turkey. We know that our Turkish colleagues are fighting against this and that cooperation between law enforcement organizations and between security services are improving. I'm convinced that it will acquire a new quality on the basis of political trust achieved by the Turkish and Russian leaderships. This, I am sure, will be confirmed once again during my visit to Turkey," Putin said.
"We are satisfied with the official position and hope that our cooperation in this area will be improving," he said.
"Turkey knows better than any other county what separatism and terrorism are," he said, adding that after the Soviet Union's breakup, disintegration tendencies made themselves felt in the Russian Federation, as well. "The moment the state showed weakness, separatists raised their heads in many regions, not only in Chechnya. But in Chechnya separatism has acquired particularly acute forms, including through Russia's own errors," said Putin.