Defense minister's possible role in Yandarbiyev murder denied

The Russian Defense Ministry has dismissed as absurd a number of media reports that Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov might have played a role in the murder of Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in Qatar.

"I cannot call these reports anything other than absurd. That is why I do not think it is possible to comment on this nonsense," the defense minister's press secretary Col. Vyacheslav Sedov told Interfax on Monday.

Yandarbiyev was killed in a car explosion in the Qatari capital of Doha on February 13, 2004. The Qatari authorities arrested two Russian special service officials for their suspected involvement in the crime.

A number of Russian media outlets, citing Qatari newspapers, circulated reports earlier on Monday pointing to Defense Minister Ivanov's possible involvement in Yandarbiyev's murder. //MosNews