October 9, 1999
Web posted at: 5:56 a.m. EDT (0956 GMT)

In this story: A battle against terrorism, Moscow says RELATED STORIES, SITES

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Russia renewed its its two-and-a-half week air and ground offensive in Chechnya with new raids Saturday as the campaign offered new dilemmas for Moscow's Western allies.

Russian artillery shelled targets in Chechnya as federal troops continued to fortify their positions in the northern third of the breakaway republic. Russian leaders hope to set up a buffer between southwestern territories and Islamic militants inside the territory.

Seven Russian soldiers were killed and 37 were wounded in the latest fighting to establish a security zone in Chechnya, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman told the Interfax news agency Saturday. The ministry said 50 Islamic militants died in the clashes, which wiped out a rebel base near the village of Naurskaya, the report said.

As Russia pressed its campaign in Chechnya, the United States and European nations were left pondering whether to support a second Russian military operation in the breakaway republic just three years after the end of a devastating civil war.

U.S. officials said Friday that Russia had violated an international arms treaty, the Conventional Forces in Europe agreement, which limits the number of tanks, artillery pieces, aircraft and other non-nuclear arms in Europe, with specific ceilings for particular regions.

The violations were first disclosed in Wednesday's Washington Times.

State Department spokesman James Rubin said Russia not only exceeded the limits for armored attack vehicles, but also the higher ceilings for southern Russia that are still under consideration. "We're talking about many, many hundreds of pieces of equipment over the limits in the armor-combat-vehicle category," Rubin said.

He said Russia had notified the United States of its violation of the 1990 treaty and promised to provide additional information about its military activities in Chechnya.

The offensive has raised international fears of a repeat of the 1994-96 Chechen war, which killed more than 80,000 and ended with Russia's humiliating withdrawal from the separatist republic.

At the time, Russian President Boris Yeltsin was fighting for his political life, running for a second term. Fearing a victory by Yeltsin's hard-line Communist opponents, the United States and other Western powers supported Russia's Chechnya campaign.

But the scope of the casualties in that war gave the West second thoughts. Now weakened politically and under siege from corruption scandals, Yeltsin can no longer depend on moral support from the West.

A battle against terrorism, Moscow says

Russia, however, is redefining the conflict. This is not a war over Chechen independence, Moscow says, it's a battle against terrorism.

Recent apartment building bombings in Moscow and other Russian cities, along with rebel incursions led by Chechen militants into Dagestan, serve as proof of the terrorist threat, Russian officials say.

But European Union representatives visiting Moscow this week seemed uncomfortable with that explanation.

"Wherever there is terrorism, we are of course against the terrorism, but we have been worried about the form of some enhanced security methods," said Finnish Foreign Minister Tarja Haronen, referring to a tough crackdown on suspected terrorists that has included the rounding up of Chechen civilians in Moscow.

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Another concern for the West: The flood of some 150,000 Chechen refugees overwhelming the neighboring Russian republic of Ingushetia.

While Russia says publicly that it can cope with the crisis, Western diplomats say Moscow has privately admitted it is willing to accept help. But Russia has remained adamantly opposed to allowing any Western mediation of the conflict.

"This is an internal problem of Russia," said Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

Washington has expressed its "concern about reports of civilian casualties due to escalation of the conflict," Rubin said, adding that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and other U.S. diplomats have taken up "our concerns about continued military escalation with Russian officials.

"We continue to believe that any resumption of general hostilities in Chechnya would further threaten stability in the entire Caucasus region."

Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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