2,000 PILGRIMS FROM CIS CANNOT REACH MECCA








ABU DHABI, March 2, 2001. /From RIA Novosti correspondent Igor Kuznetsov/--Some 2,000 Moslem pilgrims from Russia and other former Soviet republics are kept waiting in the neutral zone on the Saudi-Iraqi border -- some of them have no entry visas while those who have won't leave for Mecca without the rest. Saudi authorities have organised meals and necessary medical aid.


	Before reaching the neutral zone, pilgrims had a long bus journey across Azerbaijan, Iran and Iraq. Now it seems likely they won't be able to make it to their destination. 


	In the meantime, more than 1,800 Russian Moslems have safely reached Mecca and are engrossed in hadj rituals.