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ROUNDTABLE ON CHECHNYA OPENS IN STRASBOURG

RIA Novosti

STRASBOURG, March 21 (RIA Novosti correspondent Cristina Rodriguez) - A meeting of the roundtable on Chechnya-related issues is opening at the Council of Europe's Strasbourg headquarters on Monday.

The initiative was put forward by Andreas Gross, a rapporteur on Chechnya, during debates at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) last fall. The Russian delegation backed the idea. A special PACE resolution set out relevant conditions. It read the roundtable would take place on condition its participants recognize Russia's territorial integrity and condemn terrorism as means of achieving objectives.

Gross said in a RIA Novosti interview the day before the first meeting that the roundtable was designed to consolidate efforts for settling the Chechnya problem. Gross believes problems facing the Chechen Republic should be tackled above all through dialogue.

Gross noted the openness of the Russian delegation that helped prepare the meeting.

Gross said many PACE members doubted the wisdom of holding the meeting, particularly after Aslan Maskhadov's death. "Today all the apprehensions and doubts are past," said Gross.

All Chechnya-related issues will be discussed at the roundtable meeting on Monday, according to Gross. He did not rule out that they also could discuss Europe's economic aid to the republic.

About 60 persons are expected to take part in the roundtable on Chechnya. Chechen President Alu Alkhanov, Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin, Dmitry Kozak, the Russian president's envoy to the Southern Federal District, PACE members, and members of Chechen society and non-government organizations are expected to participate.