| Something's cooking in Chechnya... |
| If Shamil's dead and it's not admitted, that makes for a good time for Arslan to declare a ceasefire, since he'd be left with nothing he controls to fire with... |
A Web site linked to the rebels, Kavkaz Center, reported Wednesday that Aslan Maskhadov, president of Chechnya during its de-facto independence in the late 1990s, had signed an order last month for all offensive actions to be halted in February in Chechnya and bordering areas as "a display of good will." The Web site said Basayev ordered all rebels under his command to halt attacks until Feb. 22 — the day before the anniversary of Stalin-era mass deportation of Chechens to Central Asia. Feb. 23 is also the day Russians honor the nation's armed forces. Akhmed Zakayev, Maskhadov's London-based envoy, told The Associated Press that the rebel leader had aimed his declaration at the Russian people, because "we have no hope that today's leadership would desire or be capable of reaching peace in Chechnya."
The Russian headquarters for military operations in Chechnya claimed the statements attributed to Basayev and Maskhadov were "fictitious." Top officials in Chechnya's Kremlin-backed government, including regional President Alu Alkhanov, also dismissed the cease-fire calls as untrue. Margot Light, a Russia specialist at the London School of Economics, also cast doubt on the report. "One of Maskhadov's problems is that he has no control over the warlords ... therefore the claim that is being made is not very credible." The Interfax news agency quoted Col. Gen. Vladimir Bulgakov, deputy commander in chief of the Russian Land Forces, as saying rebel attacks were continuing on its motorcades and checkpoints.