Moscow denounces Maskhadov's ceasefire order(Prague Watchdog) - Chechen resistance leader Aslan Maskhadov's order for a ceasefire in February was denounced today by Russian and Moscow-backed Chechen officials as being nothing but a trick. However, Maskhadov's Western European envoys said the order once again shows goodwill on the part of the Chechen resistance and their willingness to start political talks to resolve the conflict.
Alu Alkhanov, whom Moscow installed as President of the Chechen Republic in rigged elections last August, said today that Maskhadov's order to unilaterally stop attacks is "a propaganda trick", adding that Maskhadov never fulfilled a single promise he made.
"This is all just a bluff, a provocation, and an attempt to draw attention to themselves,” said Taus Jabrailov, chairman of the Chechen State Council, a body created by Moscow before parliamentary elections could be held in Chechnya.
Conversely, Umar Khambiyev, Maskhadov's foreign envoy, was quoted today by Chechenpress, a Chechen internet news agency close to the resistance as saying, "The ceasefire order is a demonstration of goodwill and an invitation to the Russians to stop the war and start political negotiations... We hope that there will be political goodwill in Russia and that they will take adequate steps so that this long and bloody war can be over."
Speaking today on Ekho Moskvy, a Russian radio station, Maskhadov's envoy Akhmad Zakayev confirmed the existence of the order and explicitly ruled out that it is somehow linked to the fact that two months ago Maskhadov's eight relatives, including two brothers and a sister, were kidnapped in Chechnya.
He added that discussions about this order were underway a long time ago and are linked with the planned meeting between Maskhadov’s representatives and those of the human rights organization Committee of Mothers of Russian Soldiers. "Maskhadov signed the order in connection with the meeting to show goodwill," Zakayev stated during the radio interview. It should be noted that the meeting, aimed at the onset of the peace process, was to take place in Belgium at the end of last year, but the Committee members were denied EU visas after Russia exerted pressure on Belgian authorities.
"Every Chechen resistance force is interested in ending the war; and this was demonstrated by all the forces, including the radical wing, Basayev," Zakayev told the Caucasus Times, a Prague-based internet news agency.
The information that Chechen resistance leader Aslan Maskhadov ordered all his units to suspend attacks both within Chechnya as well as outside its borders as of February was published by the Kavkaz-Center news agency on Wednesday evening (see Prague Watchdog's news).
(T/E)
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