MOSCOW, January 22 (AVN) - Major-General Nikolai Bezborodov, deputy chairman of the defence committee of the State Duma lower house of parliament, called President Vladimir Putin's decision to reduce troops in Chechnya logical and timely, the Military News Agency learned on Monday.
According to Bezborodov, now that the wide-scale military operation has finished, the focus should be placed on solving social and economic problems. A bulky military force in the republic hampers the process as it distracts manpower and equipment from being used in dealing with local population.
The shift of control from the Defence Ministry to the Federal Security Service (FSB) can help eliminate Chechen rebel leaders and pay more attention to economic and political stabilisation in the region, while at the same time keeping law enforcement bodies topside.
Asked by the Agency if the reduction would lead to the 1996 situation when Chechen rebels sharply started to hot up their activities, Bezborodov said, "Russia now has a new president, new government and new approach to solving the Chechen problem." He explained the 1996 failure of the federal troops by the fact that having withdrawn its troops, the Kremlin quit paying any attention to the situation in the republic. Nowadays, one can hardly imagine something like that. The Chechnya campaign will be brought to a head, Bezborodov said.