DATE=9/27/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-254366
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov has
appealed for an urgent meeting with President
Boris Yeltsin as Russian warplanes rained bombs
on the breakaway republic's capital for a fifth
day. But as V-O-A's Peter Heinlein reports from
Moscow, Russian officials appear to be in no
mood for negotiations.
TEXT: President Maskhadov says talks with top
Russian leaders are urgently needed to avoid a
replay of the Chechen war of the mid-nineties.
That conflict dragged on for 21 months, claimed
80-thousand lives, left much of the capital,
Grozny, in ruins. It ended with the withdrawal
of Russian troops and effective independence for
Chechnya.
Mr. Maskhadov says the latest bombing campaign
against Grozny, which began last Thursday, has
already killed 300 civilians. Russia's Interfax
news agency quoted the Chechen leader as saying,
"only a meeting of presidents, without mediators,
can help in finding a way out."
But as Russian bombers pummeled targets in the
suburbs of Grozny for a fifth day, tough-talking
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told Russian
journalists this is not the time for
negotiations.
///PUTIN ACT///
He says, "We will avoid meetings for the sake of
meetings, or any talks that might allow the
rebels to heal their wounds."
The Prime Minister's hardline stance has
increased speculation about a possible ground
invasion of Chechnya, despite the disastrous
results of the previous campaign.
///OPT///
Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev has also been
issuing uncompromising statements. Monday, he
vowed that the bombing of Chechnya would continue
until, as he put it, "the last bandit is
destroyed."
Mr. Sergeyev earlier refused to rule out the
possibility of sending in ground troops, though
for the time being the attacks are confined to
air strikes.
///END OPT///
Soldiers, meanwhile, are concentrating on
enforcing a security zone around the breakaway
republic. The aim is to close off escape and
resupply routes for the Chechen fighters.
But as in the case of the bombs falling on
Grozny, the chief victims of the security cordon
appear to be civilians. Residents trying to flee
the capital have found roadblocks at the border,
with cars lined up for several kilometers on the
highway leading to neighboring Ingushetia.
Authorities say two tent cities are being hastily
built in Ingushetia to provide housing for about
50-thousand Chechen refugees already there.
Thousands more are said to be arriving daily,
despite the roadblocks.
///REST OPT///
Russia blames Chechen terrorists for a series of
bomb attacks in Moscow and other cities earlier
this month. The explosions destroyed apartment
buildings, killing nearly 300 residents.
Authorities, however, have revealed no evidence
linking Chechens to the bombings, and both
President Maskhadov and a renegade warlord have
denied any involvement. (Signed)
NEB/PFH/GE/LTD/KL
27-Sep-1999 11:37 AM EDT (27-Sep-1999 1537 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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