A NEW RUSSIAN PEACE PLAN?

Seeking to get talks started between Moscow and Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev, Saint Petersburg mayor Anatoli Sobchak is currently hosting Dudayev’s personal representative Khozhakhmed Yarikhanov, Interfax reported June 1. Human rights activist Antuan Arakelian, who has acted as mediator, said that Dudayev and his advisor accept Sobchak’s proposals. These include the suspension of hostilities, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya within six months, aid for Chechnya’s reconstruction, and free elections. Yarikhanov confirmed Chechen acceptance of these terms at a June 1 news conference. Moscow is unlikely to agree to these measures, but the fact that Sobchak has advanced them at all reflects his belief that there is a growing war-weariness in the Russian population.

Earthquake Death Toll Rises.