Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said the latest terrorist attacks in Russia are directly linked to the ongoing conflict in Chechnya, which can be resolved exclusively by political means. \"Politics, rather than force, is a major means for defeating terrorism. But unlike the president, I think that the terrorist attacks of the past few weeks are directly linked to the military actions in the Caucasus,\" Gorbachev said in his article published in the Moskovskiye Novosti newspaper on Friday. (Interfax)