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Posted on 09/12/2001 6:22:26 AM PDT by oxi-nato

MOSCOW, Sept 12 (AFP) - Russia put its intelligence service to work on Wednesday in the hunt for those responsible for the devastating US attacks after President Vladimir Putin urged the world to go to war against terorrism. Ordinary Russians, many of whom laid flowers and lit candles outside the US embassy in Moscow, said they felt vindicated in their view that the ruthlessness of the Russian campaign in Chechnya was a legitimate response to terrorism.

Putin signed a decree asking the nation to hold a minute of silence at noon (0800 GMT) Thursday to show respect for those who died in the deadly suicide attacks in Washington and New York, the Kremlin said. "The United States, we are with you," proclaimed a placard attached to the barrier protecting the embassy, closed for security reasons Wednesday as well as the US school. The Russian FSB (ex-KGB) domestic intelligence agency said it had launched its own investigation and promised to pass on any information "immediately" to its US counterparts, ITAR-TASS reported citing FSB sources.

Putin urged a massive international response, reminding Washington of Moscow's concerns about international terrorism, in a clear reference to the heavily criticized Russian military operation in breakaway Chechnya. "It is a challenge to all humanity," Putin said in a sombre address before the nation re-broadcast at regular intervals since late Tuesday, offering his condolences to the American people. The attacks underline "the relevance of the Russian proposal to unite efforts to fight terrorism," he said.

Two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York on Tuesday, destroying it entirely, and another ploughed into the Pentagon in Washington. A fourth crashed in Pennsylvania. Thousands were feared dead as US officials pointed the finger of blame at Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who lives in Afghanistan ruled by Kabul's extremist Taliban militia. Moscow accuses bin Laden and the Taliban of helping Chechen guerrillas who have been fighting Russian troops since October 1, 1999, when Moscow launched an "anti-terrorist" operation in Chechnya following deadly blasts in Russia blamed on the rebels.

The military operation has provoked strong international condemnation because of widespread human rights abuses by federal forces. Some passers-by in the Russian capital said that now Americans, like them, understood the horror of terrorism. Alina, a housewife who was out shopping, contended that the United States had brushed aside Russian fears when Moscow launched its crackdown in Chechnya. "The Americans did not know what terrorism is. I am sorry for them, they have paid a terrible price. But know they know," the woman said.

Independent Moscow-based political analyst Andrei Piontkovsky suggested that Putin's show of solidarity with the United States could help mute criticism of the Chechen campaign. "He implicitly reproached the West for not backing the 'anti-terrorist' struggle waged by Russia in Chechnya. He let it be understood that if Moscow supports America, it wants it to stop criticizing Russian actions in Chechnya," he said. The dollar, long used by many Russians as a safe haven, fell heavily on Wednesday on street exchange in the wake of the attacks, losing up to a third of its value against the Russian ruble.

Late on Tuesday some exchange offices even bought the dollar for as little as half of its previous value in Moscow and Saint Petersburg and others refused to even accept the US currency. Security meanwhile was stepped up across Russia, with police boosting their presence around embassies in Moscow and the nation's nuclear power plants. Moscow had already placed its interior ministry troops on a state of high alert.

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