YESSENTUKI, North Caucasus. Sept 26 (Interfax-AVN) - Talks with Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov are "possible only on the voluntary surrender of his formations," sources in the office of Viktor Kazantsev, the Russian presidential commissioner in the Southern Federal District, told Interfax on Wednesday.
Commenting on Maskhadov's statement about his plans to establish a dialogue with the federal authorities through his envoy Akhmed Zakayev, the sources said that "talks are possible, but without preliminary terms and without any mediators."
"The dialogue may deal exclusively with the return to peaceful life after the surrender of arms," the sources said.