MOSCOW, June 17: Chechnya’s leader is no longer demanding complete independence for his breakaway Russian republic and is instead seeking talks to end the nearly four-year-long war there, his spokesman said on Tuesday.
But the unexpected announcement appeared to fall on deaf ears in the Kremlin as the guerilla war raged on with reports of more casualties on both the Russian and Chechen sides.
Salambek Maigov, spokesman for chief Aslan Maskhadov, told reporters that Chechenya’s rebel leadership is starting to understand that it will be impossible to achieve complete independence for its Muslim republic in the Caucasus mountains.
“I have held a number of conversations with Maskhadov, and I can conclude from them that plans for Chechnya’s separation (from Russia) are out of the question,” Maigov was quoted as saying by Interfax.
“He is in favour of a compromise option,” said Mr Maigov.
There was no official re-action from the Kremlin to the offer.
Russia no longer recognizes Maskhadov’s legitimacy and has instead branded the elected separatist leader a terrorist with whom no negotiations can be held.
Although believed to be hiding in Chechnya, Mr Maskhadov’s exact whereabouts are unknown.
But Maigov said Maskhadov — who has denounced the recent wave of suicide bombings in Chechnya that have killed more than 100 people — was prepared to hold unconditional negotiations with the Russian authorities.
He said Mr Maskhadov was now ready to accept partial Chechen autonomy within Russia.
“In this case, the republic’s autonomy would be guaranteed by the international community — the United Nations or the United States.
“Maskhadov is prepared for talks without any preliminary conditions, thus sending a clear message that he welcomes a compromise solution with the authorities.”
Maskhadov’s emissaries have had only one official meeting with President Vladimir Putin’s representatives since the latest Chechen war began in Oct 1999. That brief, in Nov 2001 meeting at a Moscow airport, produced no results.
Mr Putin has been under international pressure to seek a political compromise to the conflict and now argues that Moscow’s latest efforts are getting the job done.
Moscow staged a controversial constitutional referendum in March that cemented Chechnya’s status as a permanent Russian territory — albeit with limited autonomy.
And this month Russia’s parliament passed a broad amnesty with the hope that rebels would lay down their arms.
But only a few dozen have done so and daily attack rage on. Three Russian soldiers and five guerrillas were reported killed on Tuesday and the official federal toll is now estimated at around 5,000 dead.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE: Stuttering international efforts to lure the two sides toward the negotiating table continued this week with a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe touring the republic.
The delegation, headed by Reino Paasilinna of Finland, met Stanislav Ilyasov — the minister for Chechen affairs — and after a brief tour of the republic reportedly noted progress in the war-wracked region.
However, ITAR-TASS quoted Paasilinna as saying that the delegation “could not see everything in a day.” —AFP