Russia outraged after suspected militant participates in top U.S. university's panel

[News_Editor]

Russia outraged after suspected militant participates in top U.S. university's panel

2011-02-17 23:38:19 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Lukashevich, said on Thursday that the country is outraged after a top U.S. university invited as a guest speaker a suspected Russian militant who is on an international wanted list, RIA Novosti reported.

Ilyas Akhmadov participated on Monday in the Crisis in the North Caucasus: Any Way Out? panel discussion at the John Hopkins University in Maryland. Akhmadov allegedly served as an aide for notorious Chechen terrorist Shamil Basayev, who was behind gruesome terrorist attacks, including the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis in which more than 300 hundred, including children, were killed. Basayev was killed by Russian federal troops in July 2006.

"We are bewildered and outraged that the well-known John Hopkins University gave the floor to a former militant, who served as an aide for the international terrorist Basayev. Moreover, we are talking about a criminal who is on the international wanted list. Unfortunately, this person is still registered in the United States as a refugee," Lukashevich said.

The diplomat also called on the United States to remove its objections in regard to Russia's proposal to include its suspected militant Doku Umarov on the UN Security Council list of the most dangerous wanted terrorists, the news agency reported.

"Russia's arguments and evidence submitted with the 1267 committee have conclusively proven that Umarov and his so-called Caucasus Emirate are closely linked with al-Qaeda and the Taliban movement. However, the committee decided to stay its decision on our application after the United States objected," Lukashevich said.

The United States claims that Russia provided insufficient evidence, yet last year the U.S. Department of State included Umarov in the national list of the most dangerous international terrorists.

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