MOSCOW. Oct 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The federal center has not changed its position as regards contacts with Chechen separatist leaders.
Russian presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky so commented to Interfax on another stir that has surrounded this subject of late.
"The principal proposals of the well-known statement by President Vladimir Putin remain in force, under which his envoy to the Southern Federal District Viktor Kazantsev has been authorized to contact representatives of the former Ichkerian regime on behalf of the federal center. All the latest initiatives concerning meetings with representatives from Maskhadov's retinue in Russia or abroad outside this format are a private initiative of their organizers, and do not reflect the position of the federal center," Yastrzhembsky said on Monday.
"We have the impression that Maskhadov's retinue is trying to destabilize the position of the federal center and, in the hope of gaining points in the eyes of public opinion, is imitating 'a negotiating activity' intended to disguise their lack of preparedness for serious meetings with Kazantsev. I would like to reiterate: the doors to meetings and contacts under the president's statement remain open for those who would like to become responsible political figures and make their contribution to the termination of a senseless resistance," he said.