|
Maskhadov looks to be getting ready to give it up
A minister from the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria promised to "forget and forgive all offences of the past if Russian authorities start negotiations for peace".Umar Khambiyev spoke at a conference on Chechnya held in Stockholm over the weekend, Kommersant newspaper wrote on Monday. Being the health minister of Aslan Maskhadov's government, he said he spoke on his behalf. Maskhadov is ready to resign if an interim international administration heads Chechnya, Khambiyev said. The conference was held by the Swedish human rights organization "Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society" (SPAS). Khambiyev who currently lives in France was the only Maskhadov aide to attend the conference. Russian embassy officials refused to take part in it, the paper wrote. "The position of our state on the issue of peace negotiations with Maskhadov's people is well-known," they were quoted by the paper as saying. "With them, there is nothing to talk about but the conditions of surrender." Swedish Foreign Ministry officials also refused to attend the conference. "This looks like a gesture of support for (Russian president) Vladimir Putin and correspondingly an oblique approval of his extremely rough politics in Chechnya," the SPAS president, Frida Blom, said. Khambiyev's statement was criticized by Chechen separatist leaders. Maskhadov's official spokesman, Usman Ferzauli, quoted by the paper said Khambiyev "acted spontaneously". "No one has given him the right to speak on behalf of the president and the Chechen people," Ferzauli said, calling Khambiyev's words on Maskhadov's possible resignation "nonsense". "It is useless call on human rights activists, even if very authoritative. It is possible to stop the war with the good will of the Russian and Chechen leadership, no intermediaries are needed here," the paper quoted Ferzauli as saying. Umar Khambiyev is a brother of Magomed Khambiyev, Maskhadov's defense minister who surrendered to Russian troops in March. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-11-02 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=47599 |