Russian President Putin Accuses U.S. Of Supporting Chechen Terrorists In The Early 2000s

Russian President Vladimir Putin (RIA Novosti / Alexei Druzhinin)

RT: Putin accuses US of backing North Caucasus militants

In a new documentary focusing on Vladimir Putin’s 15 years in power, the Russian president says communications intercepted in the early 2000s show direct contacts between North Caucasus separatists and the US secret services.

"At one point our secret services simply detected direct contacts between militants from the North Caucasus and representatives of the United States secret services in Azerbaijan," Putin said in the film, released by Rossiya 1 TV channel on Sunday.

"And when I spoke about that to the then president of the US, he said... sorry, I will speak plainly, he said, "I'll kick their asses", Putin recounts his conversation with George W. Bush on the issue. A few days later, he says, the heads of Russia's FSB received a letter from their American counterparts, which said they had the right to support opposition forces in Russia.

More News On Russian President Putin Accusing The U.S. Of Supporting Chechen Terrorists In The Early 2000s

Putin says US helped North Caucasus separatists against Russia in the 2000s -- The Guardian
Putin accuses U.S. of supporting separatists in Russia -- AP
Putin claims intercepted phone calls prove US helped Chechen Islamic insurgents wage war against Russia -- Daily Mail
Putin: U.S. helped 'terrorists' in fight against Moscow years ago -- UPI
Putin accuses US of supporting North Caucasus separatists -- Deutsche Welle
Putin Says U.S. Special Service Contacted Fighters From Caucasus -- Bloomberg
Putin accuses US of supporting separatist militants inside Russia -- Financial Times