This is n. p. r.'s all things considered

I'm linda wertheimer and i'm noah adams today russia's president he likes of vladimir who didn't none of the defense it is army's war in chechnya

The comments came in london at a news conference during his first visit to the west since being elected back in march he told reporters that he wrote that a cavalier for ignoring the seeds of the conflict which he described as islamic terrorism mister toten also gave no ground on the question of reopening the nineteen seventy two anti ballistic missile treaty but washington seeks to amend

From london n. p. r.'s julie mccarthy reports that britain's tony blair made plain he is ready to play as a mediator

Who's twenty four hour visit was as much about blair's ambitions as it was the russian leader's blair is increasingly looking to expand british influence in european statesmanship and sees a deepening in relations with russia

As one way to do which i think is essential

That we build a bridge of understanding between russia and western countries including britain and our allies in europe and the united states of america and russia has a full and equal partners in the world helping resolve the problems of the world is in the interest of the whole

Blair appears to be positioning himself as the point man between moscow and washington on some of their most contentious issues for example russia opposes clinton administration attempts to change the a. b. m. treaty

So what the u. s. can develop an anti missile defense system against a rogue nuclear states

Blair said he would work to bridge the gap the deepening relations with russia is not going to be easy way out

That report concluded she was the queen was intended to enlarge his stature and respectability as a world leader but members of britain's muslim community were having none of it upside down the street a small band chanted g. fund for one show and decried potent as the architect of the military aggression in chechnya

Inside the two leaders met

And emerged pleased with each other and their respective messages but when pressed by the media on russia's role in chechnya vladimir posner abruptly launched into a lecture his eyes narrowing he said he wanted the west to understand that it's anxiety should not be aroused

But what the russian army is doing in the breakaway republic he spoke through an interpreter

The actions abroad to indicate general public interest and also in addition to that they will and karadzic it is completely untenable that there should be a situation in which is what all the republics in the u. s. has a look think that the more undermining caution that the state would

Who said russia would investigate all crimes

In chechnya and said there were more than a hundred army investigators in the republic

We are interested in cooperation with the international body that they did it because we don't often did i aim to be the enslavement of the kitchen

People tony blair has made much of the need for an ethical dimension to britain's foreign policy

And he was chastised today by human rights groups and members of parliament for warming too rapidly

To the architect of the war in chechnya

The london school of economics margaret light says blair is returning britain to a role that effectively place

In the cold war and that is that not having an ideological foreign policy that's being essentially expand nafta country and therefore uh they're not being

But take a novella by passion on line this kind of approval or disapproval depending on whatever the political situation in explaining his embrace of russia's new and untested leader blair sounded a note reminiscent of margaret thatcher's remark about former soviet leader mikhail gorbachev

She said he was a man that we could do business with

Blair said of clinton today she talks our language julie mccarthy n. p. r. news london