WASHINGTON WEIGHS IN. U.S.

President George W. Bush, in company a host of foreign leaders, offered firm support to Vladimir Putin during the hostage crisis. On October 25, Bush telephoned Putin and offered unspecified help in freeing the hostages. On that same day, representatives of the U.S. special services met with a deputy director of the FSB to discuss the situation. Representatives of the special services of Great Britain, Germany, Turkey, France, Switzerland and Japan also attended this meeting (Polit.ru, October 26). At 10:40 p.m. that same evening, “the head of the MVD of Russia, Boris Gryzlov, and the director of the FBI, Robert Muller, agreed to work together under a regime of constant communication. Muller proposed to send to Moscow American specialists on antiterrorist activity and specialists in the sphere of using special technical means” (Newsru.com, October 26).