RUSSIA: PRESIDENT YELTSIN VISITS TOWN OF BUDYONNOVSK

Russian/Nat Russian President Boris Yeltsin has visited Budyonnovsk, the town in Southern Russia which was the scene of the worst hostage crisis in Russian history. The town was the scene of a massacre early this year, when Russian special forces stormed a hospital where Chechen guerrillas were holding hostages. Around 130 people died. Yeltsin, eager to end the Chechen conflict before Presidential elections in June, says he's ready for a peaceful solution - but remains ready to fight terrorism. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) "It is an international terrorism and we will fight it." SUPER CAPTION: Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia Yeltsin laid flowers at the small memorial near Budyonnovsk hospital, where 130 people were killed in a bloody battle as Russian special troops attempted to storm the building. The President laid the foundation stone of a memorial chapel to the victims of the massacre. "Chechnya is a centre of international terrorism," Yeltsin told local policemen, "and we are going to fight it". You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b986bafcd6cec5e75ba40db7d8904ed0 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork