MOSCOW. Dec 6 (Interfax-AVN) - The United States is interested in having the Chechen conflict settled, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow said.
On Friday, Vershbow met with Stanislav Ilyasov, the minister of Socioeconomic Development in Chechnya.
Vershbow said that as Russia's friend, his country wants the situation in Chechnya to normalize and the conflict to end. This would make the two countries' partnership stronger.
He noted that an upcoming constitutional referendum in Chechnya and elections for parliament and head of the republic are under U.S. scrutiny. The ambassador said that he does not understand how this can happen when the anti-rebel operation is continuing.
Ilyasov said that Chechnya currently has a population of more than one million, compared with about 500,000 only a few years ago. There are 217,000 pupils and 120,000 pre-school age children in the republic.
"About 300,000 people have returned to Chechnya over the past 25 years," Ilyasov said.
He said that Ingushetia is currently home to 69,000 Chechen refugees, 19,500 of which live in shanty towns.
The minister told the ambassador that 200,000 people are employed in Chechnya and 120,000 new jobs have been created in the past 2.5 years. "Those who are unemployed receive benefits," he said.
Ilyasov recalled that only a few years ago, when Aslan Maskhadov was Chechnya's president, the main business in the republic was "oil, kidnapping, drugs and arms."
Ilyasov noted that at that time, he was the head of the Stavropol territory government and he met with Maskhadov. He said that people went missing after numerous Chechen raids in Stavropol. "After meeting with Maskhadov, everything calmed down on the border with Chechnya for a few months," Ilyasov said.