By Alan Philps in Moscow
THE Russian government yesterday disavowed the Chechnya peace plan worked out by President Yeltsin's national security adviser, Gen Alexander Lebed, and accused the rebels of breaking the ceasefire agreement.
This added to a growing feeling that the struggle to succeed the ailing Mr Yeltsin was intensifying, and that Gen Lebed's rivals were keen to trip him up. After a meeting of ministers and senior officials, a spokesman for Viktor Chernomyrdin, the Prime Minister, said the Lebed plan still needed serious work. He gave no details of its alleged shortcomings, but left Gen Lebed dangling without the support of either the president or the government.
The general ordered a ceasefire last week and thousands of Russian troops and Chechen rebels are leaving the Chechen capital, Grozny. But his opponents in the Kremlin are increasingly saying he has given too much away, and are equating the withdrawal to America's debacle in Vietnam. Gen Lebed is also criticised for suggestions that his final peace plan will suggest a referendum on independence after five years. The Russian constitution does not allow any part of the Russian federation to secede. The prime minister was also said to be concerned that the rebels were setting up their own administration, supplanting the Kremlin-installed government.
Gen Lebed said he still intended to travel to Chechnya today to see the rebel leadership and sign a joint declaration calling for a political solution. But it was not clear if he would be able to make any progress on aspects such as holding new elections and setting a date for a referendum on the territory's final status. "The war in Chechnya has been stopped, but we must create the conditions to stop it recurring," he told reporters. "There are some difficulties, but no more than that."
He has been all but disowned by Mr Yeltsin, who has refused to meet him. The president clearly wants to cut Gen Lebed down to size and avoid any blame for what may be seen as a capitulation to the rebels.
The disowning of the Lebed plan bodes ill for any lasting peace in the region. The political disarray contrasted with the generally smooth disengagement from Grozny. Last night a Russian military spokesman said 3,642 soldiers had left the city yesterday, and the rest would go by tomorrow night. The Russians have no choice but to pull out of the city, where they rely on the Chechens for food and water.
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