MOSCOW. March 4 (Interfax-South) - Chechnya's authorities have given their approval to the decision to withdraw excess troops from the republic.
"Today's situation in Chechnya has made the withdrawal of excess units and military hardware possible. At the same time, this step will not hurt the republic's security in any way," deputy Chechen administration chief Adlan Magomadov told Interfax on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told the president that 1,270 servicemen and 200 pieces of military hardware are expected to leave Chechnya in the immediate future, in addition to plans to close 20% of the checkpoints in the republic.
"These steps are designed to bring the situation in Chechnya back to normal. It is only natural that they have received support from the republic's population. People have gotten tired of excess troops and checkpoints," Magomadov noted.
He stressed that the troop withdrawal acquires a special meaning in the run-up to the constitutional referendum in the republic. "Russia's authorities have recently taken more intensive steps to normalize the situation in the republic," he noted.
At the same time, Magomadov underscored the need to improve the situation in Chechnya without any violation of civilians' rights. "Unfortunately, this problem cannot be resolved quickly. Moreover, the problem of human right in Chechnya in still acute," he said.
He noted that Chechnya's civilian authorities want special operations to be held in towns and villages only under prosecutors' supervision.