The Russian government said it was shutting down the mission in Chechnya of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and would not renew the mandate of the pan-European security body on January 1.
Moscow wanted the OSCE to give up any political role in the Russian republic, where it has been working for a peaceful solution to the conflict between Russian forces and nationalist fighters, and focus on coordinating humanitarian assistance.

But Western diplomats wanted the mission -- at the very least -- to keep monitoring the human rights situation in Chechnya, where Russian forces have been accused of abuses since they stormed back into the Caucus republic in October 1999.

The OSCE shut down its office in Chechnya in 1998 because of fears of staff kidnappings and only reopened it in June, 2001 after Russian authorities pledged to provide "maximum security" for the envoys.

First created in 1995, the OSCE mission in Chechnya initially had an open-ended mandate and oversaw polls that saw Aslan Makhadov elected as Chechen president in 1997, after nationalist forces defeated Moscow in a 1994-96 war.

Since the start of the current conflict, Moscow has refused to recognise the legitimacy of Maskhadov, whom it brands a terrorist.

IVANOV SPEAKES OF NEW REALITIES IN CHECHNYA

"Unfortunately, not all our partners proved willing to assess the situation correctly and acknowledge the new reality in Chechnya," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said in a statement.

Officials from the 55-member OSCE failed to clinch a deal with Russia during talks Monday at the pan-European body's Vienna headquarters.

They then made a last-ditch attempt to reach a compromise on Tuesday ahead of the December 31 expiration of the Chechnya mission's current mandate.

The six-member office is located at Znamenskoye in the north of Chechnya.

Russia had ignored efforts to negotiate changes to the new mandate which it had proposed in December for the mission, presenting its plan as a take-it-or-leave-it affair, the diplomats said.

The foreign minister insisted that Russia was working to restore peaceful life in the war-shattered republic through a planned referendum next spring on a new constitution and new presidential elections.

At the same time, recent Chechen nationalist attacks in the Chechen capital Grozny and Moscow -- a deadly suicide bombing in Grozny and a mass hostage-taking in the Russian capital -- confirms that "we are faced with international terrorists who are trying to sabotage, with cruel and inhuman methods, the process of a political settlement," he said.

"This requires a change in the international presence in Chechnya, including the OSCE's Cooperation Group," Ivanov added.

PHOTO CAPTION

Masked Interior ministry troops soldiers look on while patrolling atop a tank near the Severny airport in the Chechen capital Grozny, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2002. (AP Photo/ Vladimir Vyatkin