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| Alkanov to negotiate with Georgia on Pankisi |
| 2005-02-20 |
| Chechen leadership is negotiating a solution to the problem of Chechen refugees in Pankisi with Georgia. Chechen President Alu Alkhanov said in an interview with RIA Novosti. "We spoke about solving the problem of the Chechen refugees in the Georgian Pankisi Gorge," Mr. Alkhanov said, calling the Georgian take on solving the problem "rather positive." Mr. Alkhanov expressed the hope that the searches for the solution of the problem in the future will also continue positively. Speaking about the situation on the Chechen-Georgian section of the Russian border, Mr. Alkhanov said that no trespasses on the 100-kilometer section were registered in the past few months. "We are strengthening the border with Georgia. The Grozny frontier detachment, which has already started fulfilling its duties, controls that part of the border. There should be no problems with the border on the Chechen section," he said. A round-table conference on Chechen problems will be held in Moscow in April, he said at a news conference organized by the Association of Foreign Correspondents in Moscow, on Friday. Representatives of international organizations, the federal government and the Chechen Republic will be in attendance. Mr. Alkhanov said that Chechen leadership had supported Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis on holding such a representative forum. "The proposal was made at the end of last year when I was invited to PACE," he said. "We proposed its organization in Grozny, but there is also a proposal that it should meet in Moscow. So that means we'll hold it in Moscow," he said. "We are ready to discuss any problems connected with Chechnya and the citizens of the Chechen Republic. There are no closed themes for us," Mr. Alkhanov said. "We have something to say at this round-table conference. We want peace, stability and creative work for our people," Mr. Alkhanov concluded. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |