MOSCOW - Russia lashed out at Poland on Thursday for its open criticism of the slaying of moderate separatist Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov, with the foreign ministry calling Warsaw's comments out of order.
Poland -- a former Soviet satellite whose ties with Russia are at times strained, particularly on issues linked to Ukraine -- was one of the few European countries to openly question the killing of Maskhadov during a Russian special forces operation Tuesday in Chechnya.
"Moscow does not understand, and is stunned by, the comments made by official Polish foreign ministry representative ... stating that the elimination of Maskhadov was not only politically stupid but also a mistake," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
"The blood of thousands of Russians, including those of children, was on his hands," said the scathing Moscow statement.
"So we are faced with the question: will Poland also express its disappointment over the elimination of terrorist-killer (Shamil) Basayev, who is on the United Nations terror list, or with (Osama) bin Laden?" Moscow demanded.
In a statement that followed news of Maskhadov's death two days ago, Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld called the killing a "political mistake" and said: "I don't exclude that those who carried out the assassination wanted to annihilate the possibilities of a dialogue."
Maskhadov was "the only person with whom it was possible to look for an agreement," Rotfeld was quoted by the PAP news agency as saying.
Maskhadov was seen as one of the moderate rebel leaders who had consistently called for peace negotiations with the Kremlin aimed at ending a decade of conflict in his Muslim republic.
But Moscow labeled him a "terrorist" responsible for some of the most vicious attacks against Russian civilian targets, including the September school hostage crisis that claimed more than 340 lives, half of them children.
Maskhadov never accepted responsibility for the Beslan attack, which was claimed by the far more radical Basayev, who is seen as Russia's public enemy number one.
03/10/2005 13:49 GMT