OSCE GROUP TO VISIT REPUBLIC.

On December 9, negotiations were concluded at the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs concerning a memorandum of mutual understanding between the MVD and an Assistance Group of the OSCE, which wants to be permitted to return to Chechnya. The question of how to ensure the safety of the Group in Chechnya was reportedly resolved. A decision to permit the return of the Group had been taken by the Putin leadership as early as April of 2000. “The negotiations in the MVD removed a large complex of questions which had hindered the transfer of the Assistance Group to the republic.” On December 10, the head of the Assistance Group, A. Missong, was scheduled to travel to Chechnya where he was to participate in a humanitarian effort organized by the OSCE (Press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, December 9).