Congressman William Keating says Russian intelligence officials believe the Boston Marathon bombings could have been avoided if U.S. authorities had acted on their warnings about bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

    The Massachusetts Democrat traveled with a congressional delegation which met with Russian security officials in Moscow on Thursday.

    Keating told The Associated Press on Friday that Russian officials showed him a letter they sent to the FBI in March 2011, warning that Tsarnaev planned to join insurgents in Chechnya.

    Keating told the AP that the Russians also believed Tamerlan wanted to go to Palestine and engage in activities there, but couldn't master the language.

    Keating said the intelligence officials believe that if Russia and the U.S. had the same level of cooperation they have now, the bombings might have been averted.

    FBI officials declined comment Friday. (Associated Press)

 

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