Tuesday, September 4 6:32 PM SGT

Putin condemns Palestinian "terrorism" after Jerusalem blast

MOSCOW, Sept 4 (AFP) -

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday condemned "terrorism" after another suicide bombing in Jerusalem, as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ruled out any peace talks with the Palestinians.

In a show of understanding for Israel's response to the 11-month Palestinian uprising, Putin stressed the need to find a political solution but added that "nothing can justify terrorist acts against civilians."

Opening Kremlin talks with Sharon, Putin said that Russia "is watching with alarm what is happening" in the Middle East, "especially considering that a large part of Israeli citizens come from the former Soviet Union and Russia.

"We are not indifferent to the fate of these people. We want them to live in conditions of peace, prosperity and security," he added hours after a suicide bomber staged a blast in Jerusalem Tuesday morning, wounding 13 people.

Moscow enjoyed traditionally close ties with Arab countries during the Cold War and had a frosty relationship with Israel, but since the collapse of the Soviet Union it has grown closer to the Jewish State.

Cementing this rapprochement, immigrants from the Soviet Union and Russia account for nearly a sixth of the population in Israel.

However, Putin also underlined Moscow's continued links to the Arab world and the Palestinians, saying this meant it could play a useful mediating role.

Reflecting Moscow's struggle to strike the right balance in its post-Soviet role in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov earlier urged Sharon to resume negotiations with the Palestinians.

Ivanov told Sharon that Moscow wanted to see the internationally-approved Mitchell peace plan implemented.

Russia, a co-sponsor of the Middle East peace process launched in 1991, has called on both sides to exercise restraint.

But Sharon's spokesman laid responsibility for the bomb attacks squarely on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's administration and said there would be no peace talks until the violence stopped.

"The Palestinian authority is entirely responsible for these attacks because it has amply proved in the past that it can stop them when it wants," Raanan Gissin told AFP.

There would be "no (political) negotiations until a complete halt to terrorism and violence," he added.

Tuesday's blast near a school was the first suicide attack in Jerusalem since a member of the extremist Hamas Islamic movement blew himself up in the city centre on August 9, killing 16 people including himself.

The bomber's death brings to 766 the number of people killed since the Palestinian intifada or uprising started on September 28 last year, including 588 Palestinians and 156 Israelis.

Russian newspapers commented Tuesday that Putin, waging an "anti-terrorist" crackdown against Moslem separatists in Chechnya, would show understanding about the Israeli response to the Palestinian uprising that broke out on September 28, 2000.

Sharon is keen to enlist a new friend in the region at a time when Israel's hardline tactics -- including targetted assassinations of top Palestinians and military strikes on Palestinian security infrastructure -- are coming under international attack.

But Moscow remains determined to maintain its traditional ties with Arab nations with whom it can strike lucrative arms deals.

Sharon discussed with Ivanov the threat caused to Israel by Russia's technological assistance to Israel's arch-enemy Iran in developing non-conventional weapons.

Strikingly, Sharon's visit had been timed to coincide with the arrival of Iranian defence minister Ali Shamkhani who was due to put the finishing touches to a raft of arms deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year to Russia.

But the Iranian minister postponed his visit at the last minute.

The Israeli leader arrived in Moscow late Monday and is due to leave on Thursday.

-- Anonymous, September 04, 2001

Answers

I think maybe Putin and some others are just pissed that the PAs are being so ineffective.

-- Anonymous, September 04, 2001

You know, that's a good point. . .!

-- Anonymous, September 04, 2001