Moscow, June 18: Chechnya's separatist 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 yesterday. But the unexpected announcement was swiftly pronounced irrelevant by Chechnya's top pro-Russian leader as the guerrilla war raged on with reports of more casualties on both the Russian and Chechen sides.
Salambek Maigov, spokesman for separatist chief Aslan Maskhadov, told reporters that Chechnya's rebel leadership is starting to understand that it will be impossible to achieve complete independence for the 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 Maigov.
But the head of Chechnya's pro-Russian administration, Akhmad Kadyrov, ruled out last night any talks with Maskhadov.
Any compromise with the Chechen rebel leader was "impossible as a matter of principle," Kadyrov told the Itar-Tass news agency.
"What compromise can there be with a criminal and a terrorist who... is the cause of the Chechen people's tragedy?" he added. The only thing that could be agreed with Maskhadov was for the separatist chief to lay down his arms and surrender, Kadyrov said.
There was no official reaction from the Kremlin to Mashadov's offer. Bureau Report