Lavrov: Russian rebels will pose no risk at Sochi

Photo AP Menteri Luar Rusia Sergey Lavrov bercakap semasa temu bual dengan The Associated Press dan agensi-agensi berita Bloomberg di St.Petersburg, Russia, Jumaat Jun 21, 2013. Menteri Luar Rusia berkata Jumaat bahawa Washington sedang menghantar isyarat yang bercanggah ke atas Syria yang boleh menjejaskan satu persidangan antarabangsa bertujuan untuk menamatkan perang saudara negara itu, amaran yang bercakap Amerika Syarikat mengenai kemungkinan zon larangan terbang hanya akan menggalakkan pemberontak untuk terus berjuang (Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during an interview with The Associated Press and the Bloomberg news agencies in St.Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 21, 2013. Russia's foreign minister said Friday that Washington is sending contradictory signals on Syria that could derail an international conference intended to end that country's civil war, warning that U.S. talk about a possible no-fly zone would only encourage the rebels to keep fighting (think IN pictures @1WORLDCommunity)

Kahf MASSA - ST. PETERSBURG, Rusia (AP) “Lavrov: Rusia akan pemberontak tidak menimbulkan risiko di Sochi” agensi-agensi keselamatan akan memastikan Rusia berjuang bersama pemberontak di Syria tidak menimbulkan ancaman kepada 2014 Winter Olimpik di Sochi, Menteri Luar berkata Jumaat.

Sergey Lavrov berkata dalam satu wawancara bahawa ancaman potensi mereka pulang ke rumah untuk melancarkan serangan “akan diambil kira dengan serius.” Lavrov berkata Moscow dan Washington akan bekerjasama dalam memastikan keselamatan untuk Sukan Olimpik Sochi, "memastikan bahawa potensi perkhidmatan dan agensi Rusia dan Amerika Syarikat masing-masing dibawa bersama-sama untuk membuat persediaan yang lebih cekap."

Beliau enggan mengulas lanjut mengenai langkah-langkah khusus akan diambil. Sesetengah pemerhati telah menyuarakan kebimbangan bahawa militan Islam dari Rusia yang telah berjuang bersama-sama dengan pemberontak Syria boleh pulang ke rumah dan cuba untuk membalas dendam terhadap Rusia untuk memberi sokongan kepada Presiden Syria Bashar Assad. Ketua agensi keselamatan atas Rusia telah berkata bahawa kira-kira 200 Rusia telah menyertai pemberontak Syria, dan mengakui mereka boleh menjadi ancaman apabila mereka kembali.

Lavrov berkata, rakyat negara-negara Eropah juga telah menyertai pemberontak di Syria, dan boleh memberi cabaran yang serupa dengan negara asal mereka. "Ini bukan hanya relevan dalam konteks Sukan Olimpik, ia juga relevan dalam konteks kehidupan hari-hari seluruh Eropah, Amerika Syarikat dan negara-negara lain," katanya kepada The Associated Press dan agensi berita Bloomberg. "Apabila perang ini adalah lebih . . . lelaki ini tidak akan menjadi sibuk dan mereka mungkin kelihatan untuk penglibatan beberapa" di negara-negara di mana mereka adalah warganegara.

Pegawai Rusia telah berkata bahawa mereka telah mengambil langkah berjaga-jaga yang perlu untuk memastikan 2014 Winter Games di resort Laut Hitam Sochi "Sukan Olimpik yang paling selamat dalam sejarah." Tetapi pakar-pakar keselamatan telah menunjukkan pada pemberontakan Islam di Utara Caucasus gunung yang menara lebih Sochi, berkata ia boleh meletakkan projek kesayangan Presiden Vladimir Putin pada risiko.

Yang sulung daripada 2 adik-beradik Chechen etnik dari Rusia yang dituduh menganjurkan pengeboman Marathon Boston 6 bulan tahun lepas di wilayah bergolak Rusia Dagestan, yang terletak kira-kira 500 kilometer (300 batu) timur Sochi. Penyiasat Rusia telah cuba untuk menentukan sama ada dia mempunyai hubungan dengan militan Islam tempatan.

Dagestan telah menjadi pusat pemberontakan Islam yang stabil Caucasus Utara, dengan pemberontak pemasangan serangan harian pada polis dan pegawai-pegawai lain. Lavrov cuba meremehkan ancaman militan di Caucasus. "Serangan pengganas berlaku, mereka tidak begitu banyak seperti sebelum ini, dan perkhidmatan keselamatan Rusia menjadi lebih dalam berkesan bukan sahaja melawan pengganas tetapi juga dalam mencegah serangan pengganas," katanya.

Lavrov: Russian rebels will pose no risk at Sochi

Kahf MASSA - ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) Security agencies will make sure Russians fighting alongside rebels in Syria don't pose a threat to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, the foreign minister said Friday.

Sergey Lavrov said in an interview that the potential threat of them coming home to launch attacks "would be taken into account very seriously." Lavrov said Moscow and Washington will cooperate on ensuring security for the Sochi Olympics, "making sure that the potentials of respective services and agencies of Russia and the United States are brought together to make the preparations more efficient."

He refused to elaborate on what specific steps will be taken. Some observers have voiced concern that Islamic militants from Russia who have fought together with Syrian rebels could return home and try to take revenge against Russia for its support of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The chief of Russia's top security agency has said that about 200 Russians have joined the Syrian rebels, and acknowledged they could be a threat when they return.

Lavrov said nationals of European countries also have joined the rebels in Syria, and may pose a similar challenge to their home countries. "This is not only relevant in the context of the Olympics, it's also relevant in the context of day-to-day life of entire Europe, the United States and other countries," he told The Associated Press and the Bloomberg news agency. "When this war is over ... these guys wouldn't be busy and they might look for some engagement" in the countries where they are citizens.

Russian officials have said that they have taken all necessary precautions to ensure the 2014 Winter Games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi will be "the safest Olympics in history." But security experts have pointed at an Islamic insurgency across the North Caucasus mountains that tower over Sochi, saying it could put President Vladimir Putin's pet project at risk.

The elder of the two ethnic Chechen brothers from Russia who are accused of staging the Boston Marathon bombings spent six months last year in the restive Russian province of Dagestan, which lies about 500 kilometers (300 miles) east of Sochi. Russian investigators have been trying to determine whether he had contact with local Islamic militants.

Dagestan has become the epicenter of Islamic insurgency that has destabilized the North Caucasus, with rebels mounting daily attacks on police and other officials. Lavrov sought to downplay the threat posed by militants in the Caucasus. "Terrorist attacks happen, they aren't as numerous as before, and the Russian security services are becoming much more efficient in not only fighting the terrorists but also in preventing terrorist attacks," he said.