"I call on the Islamic world to boycott Russia politically and economically until it recognizes the rights of the Chechen people and gives up its illegal policies," Mufti Sheikh Wassel said, referring to the Russian army offensive in Chechnya in the latest edition of the London-based magazine Al-Wasat.

"The international community must act swiftly to save the Chechen people from the savage massacres of which they are victims," he said.

Russia issued a stark ultimatum to Chechnya on Monday, threatening to kill everyone in the rebel capital Grozny who failed to surrender or leave within five days.

The mufti also called on Arab and Islamic countries to put pressure on India "by threatening to break off diplomatic and economic relations with the country until Kashmir is given its right of self-determination following the example of East Timor."

The mufti said that "Arab countries and Iran must speed up reconciliation efforts" in order to present a united Arab and Islamic front.

The mufti was not the only one to raise his voice against Moscow. World leaders reacted Tuesday with overwhelming outrage to the Russian ultimatum that civilians trapped in the Chechen capital Grozny evacuate the city or face a military onslaught.

After the warning late Monday by US President Bill Clinton that Russia would pay a "heavy price" for its actions in Chechnya, particularly its threat to kill all civilians who do not evacuate Grozny, officials in several European capitals followed suit in declaring the ultimatum "unacceptable."

In London, the British Foreign Office summoned Russian ambassador Yuri Fokin in an effort to step up diplomatic pressure on Moscow over its actions in Chechnya.

Italy's Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema harshly criticized Russia's war against Chechnya, saying the "horrible and unacceptable" offensive must stop.

French President Jacques Chirac also described the ultimatum as "unacceptable" and said the only possible solution to the Chechnya crisis was a political one.

Chirac, whose response came during talks with Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma, called "for the opening as quickly as possible of dialogue."

A French foreign ministry spokeswoman meanwhile confirmed that the European Union may discuss possible sanctions against Moscow at its Helsinki summit on December 10-11, echoing a warning issued at a foreign ministers meeting in Brussels Monday.

An official of the Council of Europe visiting Baku, capital of Azerbaijan in the Caucasus region, said Russia was "flagrantly violating" standards it agreed to uphold when becoming a member of the Council of Europe.

NATO secretary-general George Robertson however issued a note of muted understanding, saying that though acting heavy-handedly, Russia "had no alternative but to re-establish order" given the "horrible" instances of hostage-taking in the region in recent months.

Robertson told the Belgian daily Le Soir that though "at this point the law is being disregarded ... Russia is treating Chechnya very differently than from the way it did two years ago. It is being much more prudent."

Clinton on Monday had reacted much more strongly, but even he had stressed that he did not necessarily disagree with Russia's motives, saying that Russia's "fight against terrorism is right," but adding "the methods being used ... are wrong. And I am convinced they are counter-productive."

In Geneva the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, told Russian Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu that the fate of the civilians trapped in Grozny under Russian bombardments was the agency's top concern.

Western governments and international rights organizations have consistently protested to Moscow since it launched its campaign of artillery and air strikes against Chechnya three months ago, killing several thousand civilians and sending some 200,000 fleeing to neighboring republics, according to Chechen officials.

Russia again Tuesday dismissed Western criticism of its crackdown in Chechnya as "counterproductive."

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