ZYUGANOV TO URGE PUTIN TO PREVENT RUSSIA FROM BEING PULLED INTO WAR

MOSCOW. Sept  24 (Interfax)  -  Russian  Communist  leader  Gennady Zyuganov has  said he  intends to  urge President  Vladimir Putin not to allow Russia  to be  pulled into  "a war  with the Islamic world," which could begin in the wake of the U.S.-planned "retaliation action."

A meeting  between Putin  and leaders  of State  Duma factions  and parliamentary groups scheduled for Monday will deal with two key issues: Russia's role and place in the event of a "large-scale war in the south" and parameters of the 2002 budget, Zyuganov told the press on Monday.

The Russian Communist leader said he intends to inform Putin of his opinion that  Russia "should  on no account get involved in any military operations,"  for  "terrorism  cannot  be  defeated  by  war."  Russia's involvement in  "a war  with the  entire Islamic  world" could lead to a catastrophe for the country, he said.

Zyuganov  also   categorically  objected   to  making  Russian  air corridors available  to the  U.S. military.  "If consent  is given  to a transfer of  military hardware and personnel, NATO will immediately come to the  Pamir, and  no one  knows when  they are going to leave it," the Communist leader  said. What  is more, "there are no guarantees that the U.S. won't use nuclear arms" in this war, he noted.