Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 31, 1995 TAG: 9507310107
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: MOSCOW LENGTH: Medium
Both sides hailed the military accord as a breakthrough in ending a bitter conflict that has left 20,000 people dead. But the agreement mostly reiterated terms for a cease-fire, exchange of prisoners and eventual disarmament and withdrawal of forces worked out by negotiators more than a month ago.
The decision finally to deliver a formal settlement after weeks of claiming the war was virtually over appeared to be an acknowledgment by both Chechen and Russian negotiators that they have hit an impasse in talks aiming to define Chechnya's political status, the issue at the heart of the deadly dispute.
Russian negotiators even insisted on a footnote being attached to the detailed documents signed early Sunday stating that Moscow considers Chechnya's 1991 proclamation of independence ``unconstitutional,'' said Sandor Meszaros, an official of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which mediated the peace talks in the ruined Chechen capital of Grozny.
President Boris Yeltsin sent federal troops and armor into Chechnya on Dec. 11 to crush the revolt by forces loyal to rebel leader Dzhokar Dudayev.
Separate negotiations on the outstanding political issues are to resume Thursday.
Referring to the two sides' optimistic comments, political and military observers said both were making a virtue of necessity.
``This result can hardly be called a success. It is rather an awkward face-saving conclusion of talks which both sides knew from the beginning couldn't resolve some of the most important issues,'' said Andrei V. Vasilevsky, vice president of the independent Panorama analytical center.
by CNB