PACE calls for Chechen cease-fire, talks
Speaking at a press conference in Moscow
on 13 March following a two-day visit to Daghestan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia,
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe envoy Lord Frank Judd condemned
what he termed serious human rights violations and war crimes committed
in Chechnya by both Russian and Chechen forces, AFP reported. He noted
assurances by senior Russian officials, including acting President Vladimir
Putin, to investigate allegations of human rights violations, but said
those statements appear not to have been acted upon. Judd called for an
immediate cease-fire and for measures to enable international humanitarian
agencies to visit Chechnya. He said the PACE delegation he heads "calls
on the Russian government without any further delay to begin negotiations
on a political solution to the conflict with elected Chechen representatives
and other influential Chechens." Later on 13 March, however, Kremlin
Chechnya spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembskii again ruled out any talks with
Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov, Interfax reported. LF
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