The contract-style murder of Politkovskaya on the staircase of her Moscow apartment on Saturday drew international condemnation. Police say her killing was probably linked to her work. Critics accused the Kremlin of failing to protect freedom of speech.

Politkovskaya was scathingly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin's conduct of an anti-separatist war in Chechnya. Kadyrov's pro-Moscow militia -- known as the 'Kadyrovtsy' -- was a regular target of her writing.

The Novaya Gazeta newspaper, where mother-of-two Politkovskaya worked, said it believed her murder was linked to Kadyrov: either an attempt to silence his most vocal critic or a ploy by his rivals to discredit him.

In a September 11 article, Politkovskaya wrote: "In Chechnya the 'Kadyrovtsy' beat men and women ... and cut the throats of their enemies."

Human rights groups say Kadyrov's forces effectively run Chechnya on the Kremlin's behalf and are behind frequent abductions and killings. Kadyrov has denied the accusations.

If it is subsequently passed by the Senate, and then again by the National Assembly, and signed into law by President Jacques Chirac, it would make it a crime in France to deny that the killings of the Armenians were genocide.

Those violating the law would face up to one year in prison and a fine of up to 45,000 euros (57,000 dollars).

Turkey has threatened economic reprisals against France if it becomes law, warning that French firms could be excluded from public tenders and that a boycott of French goods might be imposed.

Ankara contests the term "genocide" for the killings and strongly opposes the bill's provisions.

It says 300,000 Armenians, and at least as many Turks, died in civil strife when Armenians took up arms for independence and sided with invading Russian troops as the Ottoman Empire fell apart during World War I.

Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their ancestors were slaughtered in orchestrated killings and that it can only be seen as genocide.

Around 400,000 people of Armenian origin are estimated to live in France, the most famous being the singer Charles Aznavour, born Chahnour Varinag Aznavourian to immigrant parents.

France in 2001 already adopted a law officially calling the massacres a genocide.

"This isn't about us. We're not interfering. There isn't a repetition of history, as huge changes have taken place," Boucher said.

Washington has long courted the countries of the region as potential security partners and alternative suppliers of oil and gas. However, Boucher said this did not mean there was any power struggle.

"We need to help the countries of Central Asia to become responsible states able to protect their borders from drug-trafficking, to develop democratic institutions and to use their economic potential to develop external links in all directions," Boucher said.

"Our task is to advance regional cooperation, to create conditions in which countries can take independent decisions," Boucher said.

The comments came amid continued Russian criticism of U.S. involvement in ex-Soviet Central Asia as well as the Caucasus state of Georgia.

Last year a security group led by Beijing and Moscow, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, called for the shut-down of two U.S. military bases in ex-Soviet Central Asia, one of which, in Uzbekistan, later closed.

"We ask the deputies of Russia's State Duma, Ukraine's Supreme Rada, Belarus' National Assembly and the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly to initiate the acknowledgement of the Transdnestr Moldovan Republic as a sovereign independent state," the address of the republic's parliament said.

"In conditions of political uncertainty and continuing economic pressure, Transdnestr used the institution of direct democracy, which is what a referendum is, to express ways Transdnestr can develop," the document said.

Transdnestr proclaimed its independence from Moldova in the early 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Armed clashes between Moldova and Transdnestr ensued, and Russia has retained a military presence in the breakaway region ever since.

Ukraine and Russia are mediating negotiations on the status of the predominantly Russian-speaking region.

The talks stalled last March after Ukraine, which supports Moldova in the dispute, toughened its customs regulations for the breakaway province, demanding that Transdnestr exports pass customs clearance in Moldova before they are allowed across the Ukrainian border.

Officials in Ukraine and Moldova presented the new rule as an anti-smuggling measure. But Transdnestr's leadership said it effectively amounted to a trade blockade, and responded by calling a referendum on the self-proclaimed republic's independence - a move Chisinau and Western mediators refused to recognize as legitimate.

Moldovan authorities said they were willing to extend autonomy for the separatist region, which still has no international recognition, but brushed away the idea of granting it independence.

According to the RIA Novosti, the West has consistently refused to recognize Transdnestr's independence. In response, Russia claims that recognizing the sovereignty of Kosovo - actively sought by the predominant Albanian population in the historically Serbian region - would serve as a precedent for legalizing the status of other separatist regions in former Soviet republics.

US influence today is "substantially above any other country" even as others have gained clout, and Asians do not predict much of decline in US influence over the next decade, according to the survey in partnership with US-based Asia Society.

In half a century, however, a majority in all countries covered by the poll -- China, India, South Korea and the United States -- believed "another nation" will become as powerful or surpass the United States in power.

"There is a clear agreement across the board that over the next half century Asians see the United States no more the sole superpower that it is or considered to be today," CCGA president Marshall Bouton told a news conference in Washington.

The survey did not specify in its questions which nation people believe will match or overtake the United States.

"We can only infer what nation people had in mind when they answered that question," Bouton said. When asked whether it was China, he said "I guess so."

China has become a global manufacturing power and is already displacing the United States as the primary trading partner for many nations.

"It is utilizing increased East Asian economic interdependence and skillful diplomacy to co-opt the interests of its neighbours and assert its influence throughout Asia," Bouton said.

China has also amassed the world's largest trade surplus and world's largest foreign exchange reserves. Its current account surplus has already surpassed that of Japan, the world's second richest economy after the United States.

According to the survey, the Chinese see themselves as the second greatest power in the world today and becoming the equal of the United States within ten years.

While Asians, according to the survey, were quite comfortable with the rise of China, there seems to be some concern that the rise of Chinese military power will be destabilizing for the region.

Eighty-eight percent of South Koreans and 77 percent of Indians said it was likely that the growth of Chinese military power would be a potential source of conflict between major powers in Asia.

Interestingly, more Americans see this potential source of conflict in Asia as "very likely" than Asians themselves.

The poll also found Asians, including the Chinese, still wanting the United States to remain engaged in the region though they express low trust in the United States to act responsibly.

On the prolonged Iraq war, Asians agreed with Americans that the conflict has not reduced the threat of terrorism, will not lead to the spread of democracy in the Middle East and has worsened relations with the Muslim world.

Trust in the United States to act responsibly in the world is "low," according to the poll.