Translated material
Ghost of Khasavyurt
The Kremlin is annoyed by the trip of deputies to Nazran
An attempt by a group of State Duma deputies to enter into a political dialogue with representatives of the Chechen separatists caused a negative reaction in the Kremlin and a positive response from some regional leaders.The first contact between Moscow politicians and representatives of the separatists since 1998 occurred on Saturday in Nazran. The result of the negotiations was a protocol signed by members of the Duma faction of the Union of Right Forces Boris Nemtsov, Sergei Kovalev, Pavel Krasheninnikov, leader of the Russian Regions group Oleg Morozov, Chechen deputy Aslambek Aslakhanov and envoys of Aslan Maskhadov. The five-point protocol, according to Mr. Nemtsov, noted that “there is no military solution to the Chechen conflict.” The deputies believe that it is necessary to begin negotiations, and from the Chechen side, in their opinion, representatives of the parliament and the president of Ichkeria should participate in them. The minutes of the meeting, in addition, included a provision on “the need for a joint fight against terrorism and religious extremism in Chechnya.”
The independence of the deputies, who promised the separatists, as Mr. Krasheninnikov told a Vremya Novostei newspaper correspondent, “to put pressure on the authorities in order to persuade them to negotiate,” was not liked very much in the Kremlin. Presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky said yesterday that “the federal center will not support any negotiations that could lead to a new Khasavyurt agreement.” In the office of the Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Southern District, Viktor Kazantsev, the correspondent of the Vremya Novostey newspaper was also told that “there should not be a second Khasavyurt.”
However, some regional leaders think differently. Governors of the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories Nikolai Kondratenko and Alexander Chernogorov spoke in favor of negotiations with Aslan Maskhadov. “We say that Maskhadov is illegitimate, but the people elected him,” Mr. Kondratenko said. “We must show the entire international community that we want peace for our people.” Mr. Chernogorov is confident that the authorities are obliged to try all avenues, including negotiations with the leader of the Chechen separatists. “Our guys die there every day, every day we bury someone,” he said. “We cannot continue this operation indefinitely.” That’s it, it’s time to finish.” North Caucasus leaders are ready to move from words to deeds: Mr. Kondratenko did not rule out the possibility of a meeting with Aslan Maskhadov in Pyatigorsk.
In fact, the question of who to negotiate with remains open. It is possible that those with whom a conversation is possible in Chechnya have much less control over the situation than Khattab and Basayev, negotiations with whom Moscow completely excludes. The names of Chechen deputies who met with Duma members are kept secret for security reasons. The only person in the Chechen delegation who was not afraid to show himself was the minister of Maskhadov’s government, Khozh-Akhmed Yarikhanov. He headed the Chechen delegation in negotiations with the federal center in 1995.
The meeting of deputies took place through the mediation of Ingush President Ruslan Aushev. As he told the correspondent of the Vremya Novostey newspaper, members of the SPS faction asked him to “arrange a meeting with deputies of Maskhadov’s parliament”, and they warned him that this would be without the consent of the State Duma. According to Mr. Aushev, the Chechen delegation included famous people, “leaders of parliament.” According to information from unofficial sources, all participants in Saturday’s meeting are members of the State Defense Committee of Ichkeria.
If negotiations continue at a different level, Moscow-oriented Chechens will feel betrayed. However, this is a local problem. But the likely discontent of the military could become a problem of national importance.
Shamil Beno, representative of the administration of the Chechen Republic under the President of Russia:
— The negotiations held by Boris Nemtsov and Pavel Krasheninnikov were a good dialogue; in principle, this does not bother anyone. On the other hand, it looks like an advertising campaign by several biased deputies. It can be assumed that this attempt to influence the situation is in the same vein as Boris Berezovsky's recent statements in The Financial Times about the need for negotiations.
It is very bad that the Chechen public is not informed about the status and powers of the negotiators. In the eyes of a significant part of the Chechens, the group of Nemtsov and Krasheninnikov are representatives of Moscow, which is looking for contact with those who are fighting against it. For these Chechens, all the disagreements and contradictions that actually exist in Moscow do not exist.
On the Chechen side, negotiations were conducted by several deputies of the parliament of the 1997 convocation, and, according to our information, these deputies were not seen in real contacts with those who are fighting with weapons in their hands. If we conduct any dialogue now, then its participants should be Khattab and Basayev, Kadyrov and Kvashnin, or other Russian military leadership. There is no point in negotiating with Maskhadov now, because the agreements reached most likely will not be implemented. However, first, in any case, there should be a dialogue about principles. There can be no negotiations with people who do not recognize basic human rights.