(1)  On September 11, 2002 in Sochi, President Putin declared he has asked Russian military commanders to draw up plans for military strikes against terrorist bases located on the territory of Georgia.  Citing Georgia's unwillingness to consider joint action with Russia, and the fact that the Georgian government does not have the ability to control and police all of its territory, Putin declared that under Article 51 of the UN Charter and under the terms of Security Council Resolution 1373 (September 28, 2001), Russia retains the right to undertake military operations on Georgian territory to combat terrorist cells.  The full text of the speech is available from the presidential press service, at http://www.kremlin.ru/text/appears/2002/09/19396.shtml.

(2)  Earlier this year, Shchekochikin expressed concern that the United States was not sufficiently interested in Russian warnings about a surge in narcotics trafficking emanating from Afghanistan.  He noted that a source of particular concern was that not one of the Afghan narcotics processing labs located by Russian special services--information he maintains was passed along to the United States government--appears to have been destroyed or otherwise taken out of commission.  Shchekochikin's statement was distributed by ITAR-TASS on April 22, 2002.

(3)  Despite initial statements of support from Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, the Russian position now appears to be that Iraqi willingness to accept international inspectors removes the need for an immediate resolution authorizing the use of force.