The Hindu : Putin puts off foreign trips after terror attacks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 07, 2003

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International

Putin puts off foreign trips after terror attacks

A woman comforts a girl at the site of the Saturday blast, in Moscow on Sunday. — AFP

Moscow July 6. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has postponed planned trips to Uzbekistan and Malaysia after suicide attacks marred a Moscow rock concert, a statement issued by the Kremlin said today.

Mr. Putin had been expected in Samarkand on Sunday for talks with the Uzbekistan President, Islam Karimov. He was to travel to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

The statement said Mr. Putin explained the situation in a telephone conversation with Mr. Karimov and the Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad.

Both the leaders presented their condolences after yesterday's twin attack, which killed 18 people, including the two female bombers.

The statement did not mention a stopover Mr. Putin had been due to make in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, on his way back but that part of the visit seemed to have been put off too.

Meanwhile, Four Russians soldiers were killed and at least 11 injured in a helicopter crash in separatist Chechnya today, Interfax reported. ``The helicopter suffered a catastrophe a few seconds after lift-off,'' the news agency quoted an air force spokesman, as saying. He said officials were not yet sure what caused the crash outside the breakaway republic's second largest city Gudermes, but did not rule out that it was shot down by a rebel missile. Russian Federal helicopters have regularly been the target of guerrilla attacks since war between Federal troops and separatist rebels broke out in October 1999. — AFP

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