MOSCOW. March 26 (Interfax-AVN) - It would be premature to hand over command of the anti-guerilla operation in Chechnya to the internal republic's Interior Ministry, Army General Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, commander-in-chief of the Interior Ministry Force and Russian deputy interior minister, told Interfax on Friday.
This should not happen until the situation improves in the republic and the police are better trained, he said. Top officials in the Russian Interior Ministry have made decisions that will enable the Chechen Interior Ministry to further develop, he said.
Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov had said earlier that he would call on the Russian leaders to step up the Chechen Interior Ministry's role in the anti-guerilla operation.