Russia urges Sweden to extradite Chechens

By Gleb Bryanski

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged Sweden on Tuesday to extradite two men it says are Chechen separatists who have been involved in killings and kidnappings.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R) talks to Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt as they meet in Moscow's Kremlin March 9, 2010. Medvedev urged Sweden on Tuesday to extradite two men it says are Chechen separatists who have been involved in killings and kidnappings. (REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin)

But the issue failed to overshadow the first visit to Russia by Swedish prime minister since 2000, in which warming business ties took centre stage.

At a joint news conference with Fredrik Reinfeldt, Medvedev shifted the discussion to the Chechens when the issue of human rights in the Caucasus came up.

"If we talk about the Caucasus, apart from the human rights situation there is another problem ... the bandits who found shelter in Sweden," Medvedev said. "If we are talking about observing human rights, we also need to jointly fight crime."

Sweden has been one of Russia's harshest critics on human rights and foreign policy. After the 2008 invasion of Georgia, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt angered Moscow by drawing comparisons with the policies of Adolf Hitler.

Its refusal to extradite Aslan Adayev and Magomed Uspayev was denounced by Russia in 2008 as a "political offence".

But relations have warmed since Sweden agreed last year to allow Russia's Nord Stream gas pipeline to cross its territorial waters.

Reinfeldt told the news conference the decision not to extradite the Chechens was based on international conventions, and the sides had agreed to differ:

"This is something we do not agree on, and we did not come to an agreement today."

LEADING INVESTOR

Firms including furniture retailer IKEA, home appliances maker Electrolux and truck maker Scania have made Sweden a leading investor in Russia, with $4 billion invested in 2008 and bilateral trade of around $9 billion.

"We need to do everything to increase mutual investment flows," Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said, hinting at Russia's drive to use acquisitions as a tool to gain access to Western technology. Russian firms often face hurdles when bidding for foreign assets.

Reinfeldt said there had been no discussion of Sweden's decision to back General Motors in ousting Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov from a deal in which the Dutch firm Spyker acquired the Swedish car maker SAAB.

In an open letter published by the Swedish daily Sydsvenskan on Tuesday, Russian human rights campaigners Tatyana Lokshina and Oleg Orlov urged Reinfeldt and Bildt to criticise Russia openly for rights violations in the Caucasus.

(Writing by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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