Russia protest over Istanbul siege

Turkish police surrounded the Swissotel before gunmen surrendered

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russia has lodged an official protest with Turkey over the pro-Chechen hostage drama in an Istanbul hotel.

A Foreign Ministry statement said Moscow had sent repeated warnings about what it described as extremist groups based in Turkey, Reuters reported.

The protest came as a bomb exploded in a police building in Russia's breakaway republic of Chechnya, killing six policemen and wounding five others, the Associated Press said.

	MESSAGE BOARD
Turkey

Thirteen gunmen denouncing Russia's 19-month-old military campaign in Chechnya were detained by Turkish police on Monday in connection with the siege at the central Istanbul Swissotel.

The gunmen peacefully surrendered and released the 120 hostages they had held overnight At least four Russians had been among the hostages.

Moscow had "more than once drawn the attention of Turkish officials to the possibility of such an act by extremist persons and groups on Turkish territory, who provide various forms of support to Chechen terrorists," the ministry statement said on Wednesday.

The ministry called on Turkey to take "decisive steps" to punish criminal groups whose actions could "negatively affect the development of bilateral relations between Russia and Turkey."

Rebel ambushes

The statement said the hostage incident had caused serious concerns and called on Turkey to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of Russians visiting the country.

A spokesman for the Turkish foreign ministry in Ankara said it would be wrong to let the incident harm relations between the two countries.

"Issues that aren't directly related to bilateral ties shouldn't influence Turkish-Russian friendship. We believe neither country will benefit," the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, in Chechnya, investigators were sorting through the rubble of the two-story building housing a local Interior Ministry department following the 5:50 a.m. (0150 GMT) explosion in Gudermes, an aide to Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said.

Russian troops entered Chechnya in autumn 1999 after a series of bombings in three Russian cities that killed about 300 people, and after Chechnya-based rebels invaded a neighbouring Russian region.

Russian forces have established shaky control over Chechnya but its troops still die almost daily in rebel ambushes.

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Russia in spotlight over Chechnya
January 16, 2001

Russian Government
Human Rights Watch: Chechnya

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