| Backstage Talks
on Chechnya Monday, 4 August 2003 Russian diplomatic sources inform about a significant discrepancy between the OSCE and Russian Foreign Ministry carrying out talks on the "restoration of the Chechen Republic". Anyway, Russian media gives namely this wording of the meeting held on Tuesday. "In the course of the meeting the parties spoke not so much about the "restoration of Chechnya" as about the observance of human rights infringed by the Russian military in the republic". According to all available data obtained from Russian diplomats, who wish to be unidentified, their western colleagues expressed serious anxiety caused by the reports of the Russian and foreign human rights organizations about the escalation of terrorist sorties made by the parties involved in the conflict. On the one hand, the Europeans are alarmed at the news about the suicide bomber women terrorizing Russia's cities, and on the other hand, they are worried that people still disappear in Chechnya, and the situation is aggravated in the camps of Chechen refugees in Ingushetia. They assume that the elections initiated by the pro-Moscow leadership of Chechnya and the Kremlin-backed parliament of the republic can be considered not quite legitimate against the background of the events taking place in the Chechen Republic. The OSCE spokesmen are of the opinion that Aslan Maskhadov should take all necessary measures to control the activity of the Chechen field commanders being beyond the reach of his control, who are involved in training of the suicide bombers, and Moscow is obliged to put the end to the military crimes committed by the Russian servicemen and special forces on the territory of Chechnya, as, according to the strong conviction of the Europeans, this makes the irreconcilable commanders resort to radical methods of resistance. The European spokesmen believe that negotiations between the convoys of the belligerents "is the only real way out of the situation" and have probed the reaction of their Russian colleagues on the possible mediation of the western politicians", reported the incognito Russian diplomatic sources. S. Spasokukotsky, Chechenpress, 30.07.03. |