Chechen Separatist Leader Vows To Continue Fight
President of the self-declared Chechen separatist government Doku Umarov (TV screen shot)
In a statement posted on a rebel website, Umarov says the separatist leadership will no longer offer peace talks to the Kremlin as Russian authorities took previous offers as a sign of weakness.
Russia says it is not prepared to negotiate with the separatists. Officials say the situation in Chechnya is returning to normal, although Russian forces and their Chechen allies regularly come under attack by rebels.
Umarov also says decisions about future policies are made by the separatist leadership in Chechnya and not by Chechen representatives abroad.
(chechenpress.info)
The aftermath of a December 2002 Chechen resistance attack on the main government building in Grozny (epa)
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