November 11, 2002	Monday	Ramazan 5, 1423

MOSCOW, Nov 10: Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Sunday for faster political moves to bring peace to Chechnya, but angrily rejected call for a pullout from the Caucasus republic.

Putin also dismissed the region’s leader as a peace partner over his alleged role in the Moscow theatre siege.

A testy Putin told Chechen public figures unfailingly loyal to Moscow a new constitution and elections in Chechnya offered the best prospects of a swift end to almost a decade of war.

Putin denounced ousted Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov to officials at a meeting at the Kremlin, taking place on the eve of a Russia-European Union summit in Brussels, which may be dominated by calls for a durable peace in Chechnya.

The Kremlin has sought to blame political stalement on guerillas and exclude them from talks on Chechnya’s future, now at the forefront of the political agenda after last month’s siege.

“Instead of negotiations he (Maskhadov) chose the path of terror and stood behind the scum who seized hundreds of hostages in Moscow on Oct 23,” said Putin.

He told the Chechen leaders: “Those who choose Maskhadov, choose war. All those people, wherever they may be, in Russia or beyond its borders, will be viewed as backers of terrorists.”

Many Chechens, however, view with suspicion the Moscow-imposed local administration, headed by Akhmad Kadyrov. But calls by Kadyrov for Moscow to pull troops out of Chechnya was sure to be applauded by people in the region.

The Kremlin wants a new constitution — to be approved by referendum — that would give Chechnya autonomy but keep it inside Russia. Putin also wants fresh presidential elections.

Kadyrov said a referendum could be staged by March, but the armed opposition could not participate.

Kadyrov, a former Muslim religious leader, welcomed Putin’s decree creating a separate Chechen interior ministry to oversee policework. This, he said, would allow many Russian forces to leave.

“Extra troops only prevent the restoration of a normal life in the republic,” he said.

Putin is under European pressure to negotiate an end to the conflict. But finding an acceptable partner remains a problem.

NO DEALS WITH MILITANTS: Participants told reporters after the meeting the issue of formal talks with militants had not been discussed. Some criticized the Russian military’s conduct in the region.

“We will not allow terrorists to take part,” Kadyrov said. “I have always said there is nothing to talk about with him (Maskhadov). He is not his own man. He can decide nothing.”

Maskhadov has denied any role in the hostage-taking, in which 128 theatre-goers died along with 41 Chechens. But US officials say Maskhadov’s decision to form new alliances with militants like Shamil Basayev — viewed in Moscow and Washington as a terrorist — rules him out of the peace process.

Many European states believe moderates like Maskhadov offer the best chance of ending the war. Maskhadov was elected Chechen president in 1997 and forced into exile after Russia launched its second military campaign in Chechnya.

Putin said Maskhadov had wasted his chance to establish Chechnya as a viable independent republic after Russian troops pulled out in 1996, losers in a 21-month war.

“It was him, and nobody else, who led Russia, and most importantly Chechnya, into war,” Putin said.

The Kremlin leader was deeply stung by the seizure of 800 people in the Moscow theatre just a few kilometres from the Kremlin.

Although his handling of the crisis has won strong support, disquiet remains over the use of a gas to knock out the hostage-takers. All but two of the 128 hostages who died were killed by the gas.

As prime minister in 1999, Putin sent Russian troops back into Chechnya to restore order and destroy guerilla camps being used as bases to launch attacks on Russia proper.

The decision was hugely popular and enabled Putin to comfortably win a presidential election in March 2000 following the snap resignation of Boris Yeltsin.—Reuters