Russians Say Ball In Chechens' Courtyard

15/05/2001| IslamWeb

MOSCOW (Islamweb & News Agencies) - A Russian special envoy said on Monday it was up to thel Chechens to make the next move after ground-breaking weekend talks.
Viktor Kazantsev, presidential envoy for southern Russia, held a two-hour meeting Sunday near Moscow with Akhmed Zakayev, representative of Chechen deposed elected leader Aslan Maskhadov.
It was the first publicly acknowledged meeting between the Kremlin and Chechen nationalists since the war began two years ago.
Kazantsev told a news conference Monday there were some positive moments in Sunday's meeting.
The Chechen nationalists had made no concrete response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's call on September 24 for talks to find ways to disarm what he calls illegal armed groups and reintegrate them into civilian life.
Kazantsev said Maskhadov's supporters had shown signs of being willing to respond to Putin's offer, but were not yet ready to take concrete steps.
``If they are going to propose conversations of a theoretical nature, then it's not clear if there's any point in continuing,'' Kazantsev said. ``Let's first wait for real, concrete proposals.''
He said they were also under pressure from Shamil Basayev and Jordanian-born Khattab, Chechen nationalist commanders in the field.