The United States has added its voice to European calls for a full investigation of reports that Russian soldiers have committed war crimes in Chechnya. The demands have been stepped up since the release of video pictures of Russian soldiers piling the bodies of Chechens into a mass grave. Russia says that the pictures provide no evidence of torture. President Clinton said that Moscow must allow free access to investigators to establish the facts.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, has expressed deep concern at the latest reports of serious human rights abuses in Chechnya. He has directed that the matter be raised in bilateral contacts with the Russian authorities next week.
