WARSAW, Nov 6: US President George W. Bush warned eastern European leaders on Tuesday that the Al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden was seeking nuclear weapons and compared the threat from terrorism to that posed by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

“They’re seeking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Given the means, our enemies would be a threat to every nation; and, eventually, to civilization itself,” Bush said via satellite to leaders of 17 eastern European countries.

There have been concerns since the collapse of communism in eastern Europe over a decade ago about safety surrounding nuclear power plants and other sites where nuclear and other sensitive material is stored.

“For more than 50 years, the peoples of your region suffered under repressive ideologies that tried to trample human dignity,” Bush told the gathering from the ornate Blue Room in the White House.

“Today our freedom is threatened once again. Like the fascists and totalitarians before them, these terrorists — al Qaeda, the Taliban regime that supports them, and other terror groups across our world — try to impose their radical views through threats and violence,” he said.

Calling them “partners”, Bush thanked eastern European countries for gathering together to strengthen anti-terrorism measures in their region.

Earlier, the leaders of Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Yugoslavia adopted an anti-terrorism plan.

The plan aims to clamp down on money-laundering, drugs and arms trafficking that are often sources of financing for terrorist groups. Eastern Europe is one of the main conduits for opium smuggled from Afghanistan to Western Europe.

The plan also intends to increase cooperation among intelligence services, step up border controls in line with EU regulations and establish a training center for anti-terrorist forces in Warsaw.—AFP