MOSCOW. Sept 26 (Interfax-AVN) - A generation, which is only capable of fighting, has formed in Chechnya in the past decade, Colonel General Arkady Baskayev, ex-commandant of Grozny, a member of the State Duma's Security Committee, told Interfax- Military News Agency on Friday.
"These are ideologically brainwashed people, capable of only fighting in guerilla units," Baskaev emphasized.
He said that guerilla units, operating in Chechnya, were actively funded by foreign terrorist cells.
"Organized groups, which are actively funded from abroad, are operating in Chechnya. Maskhadov, Basayev, and other warlords have patrons in foreign terrorist cells, which finance Chechen terrorists," Baskayev said.
He underlined that it had been politicians that had unleashed the war in Chechnya. "The war in Chechnya has always been linked with politics and money, and I believe that this is the case even now," the general said.
He cited the fact that in 1995 the military stood a chance of destroying Chechen warlords, who gathered for a meeting in one of Chechen districts, but politicians interfered and prevented the military from fulfilling their task.
"I am sure that the same hold true at the present time," Baskayev said.