CHECHNYA, RUSSIA TALKS GET OFF TO GOOD START.

CHECHNYA, RUSSIA TALKS GET OFF TO GOOD START.

Russian Security Council secretary Ivan Rybkin and Chechnya’s new minister for foreign relations, Movladi Udugov, met for six hours in the capital of Ingushetia, Nazran, on February 21. Their talks, which were mediated by Ingush president Ruslan Aushev, were the first since presidential elections were held in Chechnya. Udugov expressed satisfaction with the negotiations, which he said were businesslike and would be resumed in the near future. Although neither side detailed the substance of the talks, they said they focused on economic relations. Chechen oil company head Khozhakhmed Yarikhanov, who took part in the meeting, said Rybkin agreed to help Chechnya to export some of its oil to help restore its war-ravaged economy. Yarikhanov said his government pledged to guarantee the security of the oil pipeline that runs through Chechnya on its way from Baku to the Russian port of Novorossiisk. (Itar-Tass, AP, February 21)

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