By Nanette van der Laan in Moscow
RUSSIAN and Chechen commanders announced yesterday that they had resolved their remaining differences and signed a ceasefire. However, analysts say that many obstacles remain and a political agreement is far from settled.
Alexander Lebed, the Kremlin security chief, flew back to Moscow this week to get the presidential endorsement for his proposed political settlement, but yesterday President Yeltsin again failed to meet his envoy.
A presidential spokesman said initially that Mr Yeltsin, who is staying at a country retreat 50 miles from Moscow, did not rule out consultations. The presidential press office said, however, that Mr Yeltsin was not having any "official meetings". A spokesman said Mr Yeltsin expected the general to submit a report instead.
Although resolution of the crisis appears to be in limbo, the Russian commander in Chechnya, Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, is talking about the "practical implementation of the Lebed plan". What the Lebed plan is, however, remains a mystery.
Mr Yeltsin granted Gen Lebed sweeping powers to reach a political deal. However, it is unclear whether Mr Yeltsin was allowed to do this. Communist deputies in the State Duma have vowed to question whether such a transfer is constitutional. If the president decides to remove Gen Lebed or strip him of his powers, any deal he has reached would immediately be thrown into question.
Russian analysts have been guessing about what kind of agreement could be struck with the separatists that would ensure a face-saving deal for both sides.
The newspaper Izvestia suggested that Chechnya could now neither leave nor stay part of the Russian Federation. "There is a hypothesis that a new formula could be found, namely of a [Chechen] protectorate," the paper wrote yesterday. "This means that Chechnya could be proclaimed an independent state under a Russian protectorate. This would mean neither victory, nor capitulation."
But Alexander Goltz, a military analyst at the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, said: "The end of the conflict is nowhere in sight."
One remaining dispute is that Chechens want their own armed forces, under Chechen leadership.
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