CHECHNYA AND MOSCOW REACH PROVISIONAL AGREEMENT ON OIL PIPELINE.

Meeting in Sochi on June 13, Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov signed a memorandum of agreement on the transit of Caspian oil from Baku to Novorossiisk through the 150 km pipeline that runs across Chechen territory. The Chechen government pledged to guarantee the security of the pipeline. A final agreement has yet to be negotiated, however, since Chechnya is insisting that it must be treated as an "equal partner." That is, the agreement must be signed by Russia, the Chechen Republic, and the international consortium developing the Caspian oil deposits in Azerbaijan. Moscow objects to this arrangement. (Itar-Tass, June 15) Meanwhile, Chechnya has agreed to supply oil to Stavropol krai in southern Russia in exchange for grain and help repairing the existing pipeline, badly damaged during the war. (Itar-Tass, June 11)

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