Summary of the main news related to the conflict in Chechnya. Compiled by Prague Watchdog.
Monday, June 24
Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a two-hour news conference in Moscow that "mopping-up" operations in Chechnya should be ended after local [i.e. Chechen] law enforcement agencies are enforced, supported the adoption of a new Chechen constitution, condemned picturing all Chechens as terrorists, said that the Kremlin leaves the proposed intergration of Chechnya and Ingushetia on the will of the two nations, and warned Georgia that the situation in the Pankisi gorge cannot be solved without a direct and active participation of Russian special services and military.
Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov sent an open letter to the participants in the summit of the G8 group in the remote area of Kananaskis, Canada, on June 25-27, in which he called on them to help stop military operations in Chechnya and resume talks between the representatives of Russia and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as of July 15.
Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, who on June 18-22 visited the Northern Caucasus, said that Russian ministers, the Ingush president and the head of the pro-Moscow Chechen government assured him that refugees displaced from Chechnya would not be forced to return to their homeland against their will.
Tuesday, June 25
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov told a news conference in Moscow that the ministry's special units had thwarted a planned attack on Grozny by Chechen guerillas scheduled for June 25, seizing the plans of the attack as well as documents confirming Maskhadov's connection with international terrorists. Some observers link Ivanov's statement to Maskhadov's appeal to G8 leaders of June 24.
Wednesday, June 26
According to Russian sources, the Russian military liquidated in a special operation near Grozny Chechen field commander Rizvan Akhmadov, nicknamed "Dadu". Rizvan Akhmadov's subordinates are suspected of having kidnapped the head of the mission of relief aid agency Médecins sans Frontieres (MSF) - Holland, Kenneth (Kenny) Gluck in Stariye Atagi in January 2001.
Thursday, June 27
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) urged the Georgian authorities "to refrain from any hasty repatriation of the Chechen refugees before the security conditions in Chechnya allow for safe returns in dignity", according to PACE's Recommendation 1570 (2002) concerning the situation of refugees and displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Friday, June 28
Ivan Rybkin, the former Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, sent an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he asked Putin to respond to the offer by Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov to launch peace talks. It is dangerous to struggle against the will of a nation by military means, Russian policies in Chechnya have reached deadlock and the Russian public does not support the continuation of military activities in Chechnya any more, wrote Rybkin, who received a great deal of criticisms for his stance.
The views expressed on this web site are the authors' own, and don't necessarily reflect the views of Prague Watchdog, which aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis relating to events in the North Caucasus.
